rm^-  M 


Undenominational 
Missionary  Studie 

for  the 

Sunday  School 


THIRD    SERIES 

OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE 
IMMIGRANTS  IN  OUR  MIDST 

OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR 
INDIA'S  MILLIONS 


Senior  Grade. 


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4$ 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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BV    2090    .U52    1907 

Undenominational  missionary 
studies  for  the  Sunday 


^ 


UNDENOMINATIONAL 

MISSIONARY    STUDIES 


FOR  THE 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

Third  Series 


OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE 

IMMIGRANTS  IN  OUR  MIDST 

OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR 

INDIA'S  MILLIONS 


Senior  Grade 


EDITED  BY 

George  Harvey  Trull 

Assistant  Minister  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church 
New  York  City 


The  Sunday  School  Times  Company, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Copyright,  1907 
Bv  George  Harvey  Trull. 


Single  copies,  twsnty  cents,  postpaid. 

Ten  copies,  fifteen  cents  each ;  fifty  copies,  ten  cents  each ;  carriage  extra. 

More  than  fifty  copies,  special  prices  on  application  to 

The  Sunday  School  Times  Company, 

1031  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia. 


Hntrobuctor$  IRote 

THERE  is  no  greater  need  in  missionary  literature  than 
that  of  suitable  lessons  and  helps  for  mission  study 
in  the  Sunday-school.  Mr.  Trull's  books  are  designed  to 
meet  this  need.  The  volumes  already  published  have  been 
found  serviceable,  and  it  is  hoped  and  believed  that  this  new- 
book  will  materially  increase  the  helps  available  for  the 
teaching  of  missions  to  young  people  and  children. 

No  problem  at  home  presses  on  the  nation  and  the 
Church  more  urgently  than  the  problem  of  Americanizing 
and  Christianizing  the  great  host  which  pours  in  upon  us 
annually  from  Europe.  Our  young  people  should  be  led  to 
study  the  immigration  question.  And  abroad,  India  is  the 
most  populous  and  needy  mission  field,  after  China,  and  the 
great  men  who  have  laid  the  foundations  of  Christianity 
there  are  men  whose  lives  should  be  known  and  reverenced 
as  among  the  most  holy  and  helpful  treasures  of  the  Church. 
These  are  the  themes  of  Mr.  Trull's  book. 

Robert  E.  Speer. 


preface 

THE  aim  of  this  Third  Series  of  Missionary  Text-Books  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  two  that  have  preceded  it,  the  pres- 
entation of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  in  simple  and  inex- 
pensive form  for  young  people  in  the  Sunday-school. 
Special  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  studies  are 
strictly  undenominational,  hence  they  are  adapted  for  use  in 
any  school.  They  should  be  used  as  Supplemental  Work, 
and  in  no  case  take  the  place  of  the  regular  Bible  lesson,  but 
be  correlated  with  it. 

They  are  issued  in  two  grades,  this  volume  for  Senior 
scholars,  and  a  companion  one  for  those  of  Intermediate  and 
Junior  grades,  both  treating  exactly  the  same  topics.  To 
secure  the  best  results  from  the  missionary  instruction,  each 
scholar  in  the  Sunday-school  should  have  a  text-book  of  his 
own,  and  home  preparation  of  the  Study  should  be  expected 
and  required.  This  faithfully  done,  followed  by  a  lesson  of 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  in  the  class,  with  the  closing  exercises 
of  the  school  devoted  to  the  missionary  topic,  and  wisely 
correlated  with  the  Bible  lesson  of  the  day,  will  make  mis- 
sionary Sundays  memorable  occasions  in  the  minds  of  the 
scholars. 

Those  schools  that  can  add  constantly  to  their  mission- 
ary library  will  find  it  a  distinct  advantage  to  do  so.  Some 
books  suitable  for  reference  or  circulation  have  been  sug- 
gested at  the  close  of  each  Study.  The  text-book  is  merely 
the  starting-point  for  further  reading. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  Sunday-school  is  the 
educational  department  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  classes 
to-day  are  the  future  trustees,  stewards,  deacons,  elders, 
ministers,  and  missionaries.  That  persons  who  are  to  hold 
such  positions  of  responsibility  should  be  trained  in  the  things 
of  the  Kingdom,  is  not  open  to  question.      In  the  hands  of 


the  Sunday-school  superintendents  and  teachers  of  the  pres- 
ent generation  lies  the  key  to  the  missionary  problem.  An 
instructed  Sunday-school  now  will  mean  an  intelligent  Church 
to-morrow.  How  shall  they  believe  in  that  of  which  they  do 
not  know?  and  how  shall  they  know  unless  they  be  in- 
structed? and  how  shall  they  secure  instruction  unless  the 
Sunday-school  provides  it? 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  these  studies  to  Miss  Marian  G.  Bradford,  Mrs. 
Thomas  H.  Alison,  Miss  Ruth  G.  Winant,  members  of  the 
Missionary  Committee  of  the  Bible  School  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church;  to  Miss  Leila  B.  Allen,  Editor 
of  "  Over  Sea  and  Land,  "  and  to  Mr.  J.  Ard  Haughwout, 
all  of  whom  have  rendered  material  aid. 

For  the  map  and  one  of  the  illustrations  1  am  indebted 
to  the  Foreign  Missions  Library,  and  "  World  Wide  Missions," 
through  whose  courtesy  permission  has  been  granted  for  their 
use. 

George  H.  Trull. 

New  York,  September  15,  1906. 


Contents 


®ur  TResponstbtllts  for  tbe  Hmmigrante  In  our  flMDst 

Study  I. 
Where  They  Come  from,  and  Why  They  Come 9 

BY  MISS  RUTH  G.'WINANT. 

Study  II. 
Foreigners  in  our  Cities yf> I7 

BY  MRS.  THOMAS  H.  ALISON. 

Study  III. 
Foreigners  Mining,  Lumbering,  and  farming 25 

BY  MISS  LEILA  B.  ALLEN. 

Study  IV. 
Immigration  a  Menace  and  a  Mission 3  5 

BY  GEORGE  H.^TRULL. 


©ux  •fcesponeiDUlts  for  India's  millions 

Study  V. 
The  Land  and  the  People  of  India^. 47 

BY  MISS  RUTH  G.  WINANT. 

Study  VI. 
History  and  Religions .y> 5 

BY  GEORGE  H. TRULL. 

yf                      Study  VII. 
William  Carey— Literary  Work. .  ^. 7* 

BY  GEORGE  H.  TRULL. 
7 


Study  VIII. 
Adoniram  Judson — Evangelistic  Work 84 

BY  J.  ARD  HAUGHWOUT. 


Study  IX. 
John  Scudder — Medical  Work , 98 

BY  MRS.  THOMAS  H.  ALISON. 

Study  X. 
Alexander  Duff — Educational  Work.. 107 

BY  MISS  MARIAN  G.  BRADFORD. 


FROM  COPYRIGHT  STEREOGRAPH,   1904. 

BY    UNDERWOOD  &  UNDERWOOD, 

NEW  YORK 


PROSPECTIVE  AMERICANS 


STUDY  I. 

Cur  "FesponsiMUti!  for  tbe  immigrants 
in  our  fmi^et* 

TO  bete  Cbct  Come  f  rem,  2nD  TObs  Cbev  C:me. 

"7c?  rw.r-;Vr!  :z  irr.tr,izrz:i;-n  is  '.'<:?  r*,.:r.  1z*-*t zckir?  in 
imt^r-.zr:*  :'  z.\  :';;;;  •j.-^.h  -j. ''.',■: '■;  :'■:•,:  -: ;••  =- r -. ■■-. ■: -, :  nzi  : :  :-z. 

—  F.  P.  Sargent. 

There  is  not  a  state  cr  territory  in  :u:  great  ooamtry 
fan  Trhich  we  shall  not  find  the  foreigner.  In  fart, 
some  ere  has  sa:a  that  we  are  all  foreigners  nnless 
we  are  Indians,  and  we  are  till  that  even  they  came 
to  Am  erica  from  Asa.  But  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween those  ::  as  whose  forefathers  came  over  as 
colonists  in  the  early  days,  and  who  really  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  nation,  and  those  who  come 
n :  11  as  immigrants  to  get  the  benefits  of  our  national 
life.  They  are  coming  at  the  rate  of  a  million  a  year, 
— one  every  thirty  seconds,  2,880  every  day.  In 
182c  when  the  first  records  of  immigration  were 
kept,  fewer  than  9,000  aliens  came  to  our  shores. 
That  :s  less  by  three  thsusana  than  thzse  vh:  same 
in  a  single  day  in  1905.  There  are  two  questions  that 
cerr.e  mtc  our  m:~als.  Where  aa  these  vast  heraes 
come  from ?     VThv  a;  thev  acme? 


I.   Where  do  They  Come  From? 

The  answer  to  this  question  might  well  be,  They 
come  from  everywhere.  But  the  character  of  the 
immigration  has  largely  changed  since  the  early 
days.  Formerly  most  of  those  landing  here  were 
people  from  northern  Europe.  Now  they  are  largely 
from  southern  and  southeast  Europe,  and  from 
Russia.  Austria-Hungary,  Italy  and  Russia  lead 
all  the  rest,  and  in  their  train  come  forty  other  races. 

II.   Why  do  They  Come? 

But  why  do  these  people  of  every  race  and  color 
leave  their  own  homes,  and  come  to  far-off  America? 
There  are  two  forces  at  work,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Grose 
in  his  recent  book,  "Aliens  or  Americans?"  One 
is  Expulsion,  the  other,  Attraction.  These  two 
combined  the  foreigner  cannot  resist,  if  he  can  but 
secure  enough  money  to  start.  In  other  words, 
Oppression  at  Home,  and  Opportunities  Abroad,  cause 
immigration. 

Expulsion. 

But  what  oppression  abroad  acts  as  an  expelling 
force  to  drive  the  immigrant  from  home?  Poverty, 
persecution,  high  taxes,  compulsory  military  service, 
are  some  of  the  things. 

Poverty. — There  is  poverty  here  in  America  but  it 
is  worse  abroad.  The  average  wages  of  the  un- 
skilled day  laborer  in  the  United  States  is  $1.25  to 
$1.50  per  day,  in  England  50  cents,  in  Russia  30 
cents,  and  in  Italy  from  16  to  28  cents.  Those  who 
live  on  such  pay,  and  raise  large  families,  cannot 

10 


have  very  luxurious  homes.  "  In  England,  only  one 
person  in  twenty  is  an  owner  of  land;  in  Ireland, 
one  in  seventy-nine.  In  Scotland,  one-third  of  the 
families  live  in  a  single  room,  and  more  than  another 
third  in  only  two  rooms."  In  southern  Europe 
conditions  are  much   worse. 

Persecution. — But  in  addition  to  poverty,  persecu- 
tion or  the  fear  of  it  has  driven  many  refugees  to  our 
shores.  Every  one  knows  how  cruelly  the  Armenians 
and  the  Russian  Jews  have  been  treated  at  home. 
It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  those  who  could 
should  emigrate  to  the  Land  of  Freedom. 

Other  Causes. — Then  in  many  countries  taxes  are 
high,  and  though  a  man  may  be  living  in  dire  pov- 
erty, yet  his  taxes  must  be  paid.  He  is  compelled, 
too,  to  serve  in  the  army,  whether  he  wishes  to  or 
not.  The  consequence  is  that  to  escape  oppression 
at  home,  he  leaves  and  goes  to  America. 

Attraction. 

But  while  there  are  all  of  these  causes  to  drive 
him  from  his  native  land,  why  does  he  choose  to  go 
to  America?  Because  it  is  the  Land  of  Opportunity, 
of  liberty  and  freedom,  where  work  is  plentiful,  and 
wealth  can  be  secured.  There  is  hardly  a  hamlet 
in  the  Old  World  where  the  magic  name  of  America 
is  unknown.  Here  is  a  village  from  which  some  of 
the  inhabitants  have  already  gone.  They  send  back 
glowing  accounts  of  the  new  land,  and  the  result  is 
that  relatives  and  friends  decide  to  go  too.  Then 
perhaps  an  agent  of  some  steamship  company  may 
happen  in. 

Sitting  at  the  family  table,  he  begins  to  tell  how 
ii 


sorry  it  makes  him  to  see  the  head  of  the  family 
wasting  his  strength  and  powers  in  a  land  where  he 
can  barely  subsist,  and  then  he  tells  him  of  a  land 
whose  streets  are  paved  with  gold.  Oh,  no,  this  man 
is  not  a  missionary  telling  of  the  heavenly  home, 
but  a  man  telling  of  America, — only  when  he  tells 
of  the  "gold,"  he  does  not  tell  also  of  the  pick-axe. 
He  tells  of  a  land  where  poverty  is  unknown;  of  a 
land  where  men  do  just  as  they  please,  and  no  one 
says  them  nay ;  in  short,  of  the  land  of  liberty.  He 
speaks  of  increased  wages,  and  says  nothing  of  the 
increased  cost  of  living.  At  last  his  words  begin  to 
tell,  the  people  are  attracted  by  the  fair  vision  of 
freedom  and  prosperity,  and  are  persuaded  to  sell 
their  little  home,  which,  though  it  be  a  shanty,  is 
yet  their  home,  and  set  out  for  the  nearest  port  from 
which  they  will  set  sail.  Many  an  army  has  attacked 
a  land  and  left  less  desolation  in  its  train  than  the 
transportation  agent.  These  individuals  are  paid 
according  to  the  number  of  passengers  secured,  and 
the  number  of  falsehoods  told  in  the  securing  of 
passengers  does  not  lessen  the  commission.  It  is 
estimated  that  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the 
immigrants  who  come  to  our  shores,  come  because 
of  the  solicitations  of  the  transportation  agent. 

Having  persuaded  the  family  to  go  to  America, 
the  next  step  is  to  the  Immigration  Offices,  where  an 
examination  must  be  passed.  Here  the  fiendish 
work  of  the  steamship  company  doctors  is  carried 
on.  Cases  of  trachoma  are  "fixed"  so  as  to  look  all 
right.  Powerful  drugs  are  put  in  the  eyes  to  allay 
the  inflammation,  so  that  the  sufferers  may  be  passed 
through  the  American  port  to  which  they  are  going, 

12 


unsuspected.  Blindness  is  the  almost  certain  out- 
come of  the  use  of  such  drugs ;  but  when  the  steam- 
ship companies  have  their  fees,  it  matters  not  to 
them  if  a  few  more  or  less  are  doomed  to  a  life  in  the 
dark. 

The  following  incident  narrated  in  the  report  of 
the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  illustrates 
the  harm  done  by  these  men  :  "The  entire  family 
consisting  of  husband,  wife,  and  five  children  had 
been  located  in  Hungary,  the  husband  being  engaged 
as  a  barber  and  the  wife  as  hair-dresser.  They  were 
in  much  better  circumstances  than  the  average 
Hungarian  peasant,  and  were  both  prosperous  and 
happy.  A  representative  of  one  of  the  steamship 
companies  called  on  the  father,  and  represented  to 
him  that,  while  he  was  doing  nicely  in  his  present 
situation,  he  could  do  twice  as  well  in  America. 
Believing  the  story,  he  left  his  wife  and  children  and 
came  to  Baltimore.  Finding  the  wages  there  scarcely 
sufficient  for  his  own  support,  he  went  to  Washington 
and  obtained  a  position  at  $10.00  a  week.  His  salary 
enabled  him  to  send  small  amounts  to  his  wife  from 
time  to  time,  and  he  wrote  her  in  a  rather  encouraging 
way,  although  he  did  not  say  that  he  himself  felt 
specially  benefited  by  coming  to  the  United  States. 
The  wife,  thinking  that  her  husband  was  realizing 
the  expectations  created  in  their  minds  by  the  steam- 
ship agent,  disposed  of  their  business  and  household 
effects,  and  came  to  Baltimore  without  having  noti- 
fied her  husband,  evidently  thinking  it  would  be  a 
pleasant  surprise  to  him.  He  was  surprised  to  re- 
ceive a  telegram  that  they  had  arrived,  but  the  sur- 
prise was   anything   but   pleasant.     He,  of   course, 

13 


proceeded  to  Baltimore,  and  upon  testifying  before 
the  board  that  he  was  steadily  employed  at  $10.00 
a  week,  the  wife  and  five  children  were  admitted 
to  his  care,  and  proceeded  with  him  to  Washington. 
The  wife,  of  course,  immediately  realized  the  serious 
error  into  which  she  had  fallen,  and  became  almost 
crazed  through  distress  and  homesickness.  Thus  a 
happy  and  prosperous  family  of  Europe  was  thrown 
into  physical  and  mental  distress,  and  have  been 
induced  to  sacrifice  their  business  and  household 
effects  because  of  the  desire  of  a  steamship  agent 
to  increase  his  business  by  selling  the  several  passages 
involved  in  moving  the  family  to  America." 

How  They  Come. 
The  big  vessel  lies  at  anchor  at  the  wharf.  A 
large  crowd  of  emigrants  wait  for  the  word  to  go 
on  board.  Soon  they  are  packed  in  like  so  many 
cattle.  The  journey  across  the  ocean  can  hardly 
be  called  enjoyable,  especially  if  there  are  any  great 
storms.  On  one  steamer,  in  a  room  72  feet  long, 
there  were  195  beds,  in  which  214  women  and  children 
slept.  There  was  but  little  air,  and  do  you  wonder 
that  many  of  the  children  cried  all  night  long?  When 
meal-time  comes  the  food  is  placed  in  a  large  pan  for 
a  whole  family  or  group,  and  each  one  helps  himself 
from  the  common  dish. 

Ellis  Island. 

The  chief  port  of  entry  into  the  United  States  is 

Ellis  Island,  in  sight  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty.    There 

is  great  excitement  on  board  as  the  vessel  comes  into 

port,  as  every  immigrant  is  eager  for  a  glimpse  of 

14 


the  strange  new  land.  After  the  cabin  passengers 
have  been  landed  at  the  pier,  the  immigrants  go 
aboard  barges  and  are  towed  to  Ellis  Island,  where 
it  will  be  finally  decided  whether  or  not  they  can 
enter  the  land  of  their  dreams  and  hopes  ;  for  those 
who  are  sick  with  contagious  diseases,  or  those  who 
are  likely  to  become  dependent  on  public  charity, 
will  be  sent  back  to  the  country  from  which  they 
came,  at  the  expense  of  the  steamship  company. 
The  doctors  and  inspectors  who  examine  every  one, 
are  kind  but  very  particular,  and  they  need  to  be, 
or  else  we  would  have  many  persons  here  who  would 
never  become  good  citizens. 

But  there  is  some  one  else  at  Ellis  Island  beside 
government  inspectors  and  officials,  to  greet  the 
immigrants  as  they  come.  Suppose  we  call  him  the 
"gospel  pilot,"  for  he  is  on  hand  with  tracts  and 
gospels  in  twenty-four  different  languages,  and  he 
himself  can  speak  twenty -six.  Do  you  see  the  pleased 
look  on  the  face  of  this  man  or  that  woman  or  child, 
as,  guessing  their  nationality,  he  speaks  to  them  in 
their  own  tongue?  He  is  ready  to  help  in  any  way 
he  can,  and  many  a  sad  heart  is  lightened  as  they 
find  in  the  colporteur  of  the  American  Tract  Society 
or  of  the  Bible  Society,  a  true  counsellor  and  friend. 
Many  an  immigrant  has  gotten  his  first  knowledge 
of  Protestant  Christianity  from  tract  or  Gospel  given 
him  at  Ellis  Island. 

All  requirements  having  been  met,  those  whose 
destination  is  New  York  City  board  the  government 
boat  and  are  soon  at  the  Battery.  Before  their 
wondering  eyes  are  the  "sky-scraper"  buildings, 
the  busy  streets,  the  hurrying  crowds,  just  as  the 

15 


transportation  agent  had  said;  but  the  streets  are 
not  paved  with  gold,  as  some  had  expected  to  find, 
nor  is  money  to  be  found  lying  on  the  sidewalks. 
As  they  step  ashore,  the  first  word  they  hear  in  the 
land  of  Freedom  is  a  command,  though  they  may 
not  understand  it;  a  command  to  move  on  and  not 
impede  the  traffic.  We  shall  find  out  later  what 
becomes  of  them  as  they  scatter  through  the  city. 

Questions. 

i.  In  what  way  did  our  forefathers  differ  from  the 
present  day  immigrants  ? 

2.  What  effect  upon  our  social,  political  and  religious 

life  is  unrestricted  immigration  likely  to  have? 

3.  Over  how  many  different  races  does  the  American 

flag  float  here  in  America? 

4.  What  two  forces  are  at  work  causing  immigration, 

and  which  do  you  think  the  stronger,   and 
why? 

5.  Give  a  practical  instance  of  the  evils  of  solicitation 

on  the  part  of  the  steamship  agent. 

6.  What  Christian  work  is  now  being  done  at  Ellis 

Island  for  the  immigrants? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

"Aliens   or   Americans?"   by    Howard  B.   Grose. 
"Immigration,"  by  Prescott  F.  Hall. 
"Our    People    of    Foreign    Speech,"    by    Samuel 
McLanahan. 

"Coming  Americans,"  by  Katherine  M.  Crowell. 


16 


STUDY  II. 

foreigners  in  ©ur  Cities. 

"  You  can  kill  a  man  with  a  tenement  as  easily  as  with  an 
axe." — Jacob  Riis. 

"Our  foreign  colonies  are  to  a  large  extent  in  the  cities  of  our 
own  country.  To  live  in  one  of  these  foreign  communities  is 
actually  to  live  on  foreign  soil.  The  thoughts,  feelings,  and 
traditions  which  belong  to  the  mental  life  of  the  colony  are  often 
entirely  alien  to  an  American." — Robert  Hunter. 

The  mighty  incoming  stream  of  humanity  divides 
at  Ellis  Island,  attracted  by  the  prospect  of  pros- 
perity in  the  farming  and  mining  region,  or  held  by 
the  peculiar  fascination  of  the  city.  Sixty-nine  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  immigrants,  like  a 
river,  eddies  and  flows  around  the  already  over- 
crowded districts  in  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  after 
leaving  a  deposit  of  over  200,000  here  in  New  York. 

If  these  new-comers  were  equally  distributed 
throughout  the  cities,  the  dangers  would  be  lessened; 
but  they  are  not.  Earlier,  in  the  first  days  of  immi- 
gration, little  groups  of  the  same  nationality  lived 
together,  and  now  whole  districts  are  given  over 
to  a  foreign  population  as  distinctly  un-American 
as  any  town  or  village  of  their  native  land;  and 
naturally  it  is  to  these,  that  seem  a  bit  like  home, 
that  the  "coming  American"   goes, — too   often  re- 

2  17 


maining  as  absolutely  foreign  in  his  religion  and 
customs   as  when  he  arrived. 

Take  New  York  as  typical  in  its  many  foreign 
"quarters."  Indeed  it  is  more  than  typical,  for  here 
the  conditions  are  on  a  vaster,  larger  scale  than  in 
any  other  city.  St.  Louis  has  a  large  German  popula- 
tion; Boston  leads  in  its  Irish  element;  but  New 
York,  the  port  of  largest  entry,  has  been  the  magnet 
for  the  greatest  numbers.  Here  "there  are  more 
Germans  than  in  any  city  but  Berlin;  twice  as  many 
Irish  as  in  Dublin;  more  Italians  than  in  Venice; 
and  more  Jews  than  in  Jerusalem."  So  that  no  city 
is  more  cosmopolitan  with  its  Hebrew,  German, 
Irish,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Hungarian,  Chinese  dis- 
tricts. 

A  ride  in  a  street-car  will  convince  any  one  of  the 
strangers  here  in  our  midst.  Just  look  at  the  foreign 
names  on  the  signs.  Watch  the  people  you  meet, 
and  it  may  surprise  you  that  only  one  in  every  five 
is  a  native  American. 

Every  year  New  York  adds  to  itself  a  city  the  size 
of  Minneapolis.  Where  do  these  people  live?  We 
do  not  notice  this  increase;  but  over-crowded  tene- 
ments and  the  slums  tell  the  story  all  too  plainly. 
No  room  is  too  dark  to  live  in,  nor  any  cellar  too 
damp.  The  hot  weather  reveals  the  swarms  of  human 
beings  who  seek  the  streets  for  a  breath  of  cool  air, 
often  sleeping  on  the  sidewalk.  In  Rivington  and 
Ludlow  Streets,  many  families  sleep  in  "relays," 
because  there  is  not  room  on  the  floor  for  all  the 
mattresses.  While  one  group  sleeps,  the  others  go 
to  the  parks  or  recreation  piers  until  their  turn  comes. 
No  wonder,  when  one  tenement  was  built  to  accom- 

18 


modate  twenty-eight  families,  and  fifty-six,  just 
twice  the  number,  were  crowded  in!  These  people, 
too,  are  so  pitiably  poor  that  every  means  has  to  be 
used  to  lessen  expenses,  even  at  the  risk  of  a  "little 
crowding."  A  widow  with  three  in  her  own  family 
took  nine  boarders  in  her  three  rooms,  a  nephew  and 
his  wife  also  keeping  house  there.  The  rent  was 
$18  a  month. 

Foreign  Quarters. 

On  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  city,  near  the 
rivers  that  bring  fresh  air  and  keep  them  from  being 
greater  hot-beds  of  disease,  are  these  congestions  of 
population.  One  section  overlaps  the  other,  but 
everywhere  the  Italian  is  in  evidence. 

We  have  become  so  used  to  the  Irish  immigrant, 
and  he  has  become  so  like  us,  that  we  are  apt  to 
forget  that  there  are  300,000  of  them  here.  In  the 
last  generation  "  Pat "  was  digging  dirt  in  the  trenches, 
but  now  he  is  the  political  boss  of  our  cities,  and 
"Tony,"  the  Italian,  has  taken  the  Irishman's  former 
job.  From  the  Syrian  colony  near  the  Battery  come 
the  wonderful  laces  and  fine  embroidery  that  pedlers 
so  often  display  on  summer  verandas.  The  Greeks 
are  the  flower  and  fruit  venders  of  the  streets.  How 
their  tray-like  baskets  of  violets  must  awaken  dreams 
of  the  "sunny  Greece"  they  left!  The  Bohemians 
(15,000)  have  a  large  colony,  as  have  also  the  Poles 
(50,000),  and  the  Hungarians  (50,000-60,000),  but 
by  far  the  largest  "quarters"  are  the  Italian  and  the 
Jewish.  The  Hebrew  quarter  is  called  the  "Ghetto." 
The  Chinese  is  the  most  unusual  and  unique. 

19 


The  Ghetto. 

A  trip  over  the  new  East  River  bridge  will  take 
you  through  part  of  the  Ghetto,  and  you  will  realize 
that  no  words  can  describe  it.  You  will  feel  like  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  land,  where  an  unknown  tongue 
is  spoken.  Even  the  people  are  different,  with  an 
entirely  new  type  of  face.  The  old  women,  haggard 
and  worn,  are  sitting  at  the  door  or  bargaining  at 
some  push-cart.  Many  wear  the  oddest  looking  wigs, 
resembling  hair  only  in  color.  Men  are  standing  on 
the  corners,  gesticulating  as  they  talk;  and  the 
children — they  are  everywhere,  of  all  ages  and  all 
sizes.  Signs  in  Yiddish,  unintelligible  to  us,  hang 
over  windows  gay  with  wonderful  millinery,  or  hidden 
by  great  lines  of  new  or  second-hand  clothes  swinging 
in  the  air.  The  shop-keeper  waits  at  the  door,  not 
to  invite  the  customer  in,  but  literally  to  pull  him  in. 
From  the  throngs  on  the  sidewalks  and  in  the  middle 
of  the  street,  wherever  there  is  room  between  the 
push-carts,  you  will  realize  that  there  are  760,000 
Jews  scattered  throughout  our  city.  Most  of  them 
live  east  of  the  Bowery,  above  and  below  Grand 
Street. 

The  German  and  Russian  Jew  are  alike  in  that 
both  come  to  America  for  profit;  the  one  chiefly 
to  make  money,  and  the  other  to  gain  the  religious 
freedom  which  Russia  denies  her  subjects.  This 
latter  class  makes  the  Orthodox  Jew  that  fills  the 
synagogues.  They  never  eat  pork,  seldom  any  meat, 
but  quantities  of  crabs  and  razor-fish.  The  Russians 
are  pitiably  poor,  but  do  not  stay  so.  Every  energy 
is  put  forth  to  make  money.  Long  hours  of  work 
and  scanty  food  they  do  not  mind,  if  something  can 

20 


be  saved.  The  pity  of  it  is  that  the  burden  falls 
also  on  the  children.  As  soon  as  they  are  large 
enough,  they  are  put  at  machines  to  turn  out  ready- 
made  garments  as  fast  as  possible,  to  supply  the  de- 
mand that  each  year  increases  for  a  cheaper  and 
cheaper  article.  The  Jews  monopolize  this  garment- 
making  business,  and  out  of  it  has  grown  two  of  the 
greatest  evils  of  our  foreign  quarters:  the  Sweat- 
shop,  and  Child  Labor. 

Keenly  alive  to  the  benefit  of  a  good  education, 
the  Jew  never  misses  an  opportunity  to  advance 
himself.  The  night-schools  are  crowded  with  an 
eager  throng,  as  are  the  day-schools  and  colleges. 
In  every  profession  we  find  them,  and  in  law  and 
medicine  many  have  risen  to  prominence.  They 
practically  control  the  real-estate  and  dry-goods 
business  of  the  city.  But  in  all  their  successes  or 
failures,  they  remain  a  "separated"  people,  sadly 
waiting  for  the  King  they  did  not  receive  when  He 
came  as  a  babe  in  Bethlehem. 

Little  Italy. 
The  Bowery  acts  as  a  dividing  line  between  the 
Ghetto  and  the  most  famous  of  the  Italian  quarters, 
Mulberry  Bend.  Not  all  the  450,000  Italians  in  the 
city  live  there,  but  it  is  a  type  of  the  "Little  Italy s" 
one  finds  along  the  East  Side  and  Harlem.  Familiar 
sights  of  the  streets  are  groups  of  men  returning  from 
their  work  in  tunnel,  subway,  or  cellar  excavations; 
little  brown-eyed  bootblacks;  the  inevitable  corner 
fruit-stand,  with  its  array  of  tastefully  arranged 
fruit;  and  an  occasional  hurdy-gurdy,  with  its  bril- 
liantly dressed  girls,  so  skilful  in  throwing  and  twirling 

21 


the  tambourine.  On  a  fete  night,  the  streets  are 
impassable,  and  all  Italy  seems  gathered  under 
wonderful  arches  of  red,  green,  and  white  lights 
strung  from  sidewalk  to  sidewalk.  The  newness  of 
the  immigrant  in  the  throng  can  be  judged  by  the 
dress;  the  gay  head-  and  shoulder-shawls  of  the 
women,  and  the  foreign  cut  of  the  men's  clothes, 
together  with  their  high-heeled  shoes,  showing  that 
they  have  just  arrived. 

There  are  queer  grocery  stores  where  there  is  a 
wonderful  display  of  vegetables  in  their  season: 
garlic,  and  red  and  green  peppers,  all  having  seasons 
of  their  own.  The  supply  of  macaroni  must  never 
run  low.  In  September  the  windows  and  fire-escapes 
are  brilliant  with  a  wonderful  tomato  conserve  which 
the  Italians  skilfully  prepare.  Little  bits  of  green, 
pathetic  attempts  at  window-gardens,  show  they  never 
lose  their  love  for  the  country  life  they  left  in  Italy. 

Unlike  the  Jew,  the  Italian  is  very  illiterate  when 
he  arrives,  and,  worst  of  all,  he  remains  so.  The  life 
in  their  colonies  is  so  complete,  there  is  no  necessity 
of  ever  going  outside  for  anything.  "One  man  was 
here  for  twenty-eight  years,  yet  he  could  not  speak 
a  word  of  English."  In  this  way  the  ignorance  and 
superstition  of  the  peasant  class  in  Italy  is  being 
fostered  right  in  our  midst  here  in  New  York. 

Chinatown. 
What  Baxter  Street  is  to  the  "Ghetto,"  and  Mul- 
berry Street  is  to  the  "Bend,"  Mott  Street  is  to 
"Chinatown."  Around  it  centers  the  Chinese  life 
in  New  York.  Just  across  the  Bowery  from  the 
Ghetto,  and  running  into  "the  Bend"  is  this  piece 

22 


of  Asia.  A  visit  to  it,  even  in  a  sight-seeing  auto- 
mobile, is  apt  to  be  full  of  interest.  Great  signs, 
with  queer  Chinese  characters  on  them,  swing  over- 
head from  funny  little  balconies  lighted  by  lanterns. 
Great  piles  of  nuts  and  boxes  of  tea  mark  the  grocery 
stores,  but  the  display  in  the  butcher-shop  baffles 
description.  There  are  many  prosperous  looking 
shops  where  one  can  get  beautiful  porcelains  and 
carved  ivories.  On  opposite  sides  of  the  street,  as 
if  vicing  with  each  other,  stand  the  theatre  and  the 
Joss-house.  True,  the  latter  is  on  the  top  floor  of  a 
tenement,  but  the  idol  and  the  wonderful  shrines  are 
there,  before  which  incense  constantly  burns.  The 
priest  calls  the  god's  attention  by  clanging  a  bell, 
and  then,  with  a  piece  of  wood  in  each  hand,  falls 
prostrate  before  the  image,  rising  on  his  knees  and 
falling,  all  the  while  beating  the  floor  with  the  wood; 
arguing,  no  doubt,  that  the  louder  the  noise,  the  more 
surely  will  the  god  hear  his  prayer. 

Not  many  Chinamen  are  to  be  seen  on  the  streets, 
and  only  a  few  women,  wives  of  the  rich  merchants. 
The  Exclusion  laws  keep  them  from  coming  to  our 
country,  and  those  who  are  here  keep  their  queues  on, 
and  hope  by  "  plentee  washee  "  to  make  money  enough 
to  return  to  China  to  live  in  ease  the  rest  of  their  days. 

It  is  a  relief  to  come  into  the  general  air  of  neatness 
and  cleanliness  that  pervades  Chinatown,  after  the 
filth  of  the  Bend  and  the  Ghetto.  But  the  relief 
does  not  last  long  when  we  see  the  opium  joints, 
those  unclean   dens   of  iniquity. 

Christianity's  Opportunity. 
Is  it  not  true  that  New  York,  although  our  boasted 
23 


metropolis,  is,  in  a  sense,  really  not  an  American 
city  after  all?  It  is  significant  that  the  apostle  Paul 
sought  to  establish  Christianity  in  the  cities,  because 
they  were  the  centers  of  a  widely  radiating  influence. 
Dr.  Josiah  Strong  has  said,  "We  must  save  the  city 
if  we  would  save  the  nation."  At  our  doors  there  is 
one  of  the  greatest  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
opportunities   ever  granted  the   Church. 

Questions. 

i.  Point  out  any  dangers  to  the  community  resulting 
from  the  overcrowding  of  immigrants  in  the 
foreign  quarters. 

2.  What  will  be  the  likely  effect  upon  the  immigrant 

himself,    socially,    politically,    and    morally, 
if  he  settles  in  the  colony  of  his  nationality? 

3.  Describe  the  Ghetto,  Little  Italy,  and  Chinatown. 

4.  Which  of  the  foreigners  do  you  think  are  apt  to 

make  the  best  citizens,  and  why? 

5.  What  is  the  Church's  opportunity  and  obligation 

to  the  foreigners? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

"The  Poor  in  Great  Cities,"  by  Baxter. 
"  Children  of  the  Poor,"  by  Riis. 
"How  the  Other  Half  Lives,"  by  Riis. 
"Americans  in  Process,"  by  Wood. 
"Poverty,"  by  Hunter. 
"Aliens  or  Americans?"  by  Grose. 


24 


STUDY   III. 

foreigners  {mining,  lumbering,  ant> 
farming, 

"If  the  great  sympathetic  American  public  could  see  for 
itself,  could  know  the  sorrows  and  heartaches  of  those  who 
spend  their  lives  in  the  coal  mines  of  our  country,  I  am  sure 
they  would  give  their  unqualified  support  to  every  effort  being 
made  by  organization  of  labor  to  ameliorate  the  conditions 
under  which  these  miners  work,  to  secure  for  them  wages  com- 
mensurate with  hazardous  labor,  thus  enabling  them  to  take 
little  boys  from  such  toil  and  place  them  for  a  few  years  at  least 
in  our  schools,  where  they  may  secure  their  birth-right  of  educa- 
tion, and  enjoy  the  sunshine  so  needed  to  their  physical  develop- 
ment. " — John  Mitchell.  Pres't  of  United  Mine  Workers 
of  America. 

"The  gap  between  organized  labor  and  the  Christian  church 
is  not  growing  wider,  but  is  narrowing.  Ministers  are  now 
admitted  to  many  Labor  Unions',  and  on  the  other  hand,  Labor 
Unions  are  sending  delegates  to  ministers'  meetings,  where 
they  learn  that  they  have  one  common  Maker,  one  common 
Lord.''— Rev.  Chas.  Stelzle.  Sup't  Dep't  of  Church  and 
Labor  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Not  all  the  immigrants  settle  in  our  cities,  though 
one  might  think  they  did  after  a  visit  to  the  foreign 
quarters  in  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  or 
Boston.  Thousands  go  to  the  mines  of  Pennsylvania, 
others  to  the  lumber  camps  of  the  northwest,  and 
still  others  to  the  farming  sections  of  the  central 

25 


west  and  north.  Suppose  we  visit  these  sections, 
that  we  may  see  for  ourselves  the  miner,  the  logger, 
and  the  farmer  who  come  from  across  the  sea. 

The  Mines. 

"  How  many  foreigners  come  into  this  region  now? " 
asked  a  passenger  of  the  railway  conductor,  as  the 
train  passed  through  the  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania. 
"A  steady  stream,"  he  answered,  "there  is  no  end  to 
them."  There  are  now  110,000  Slavs  in  this  district. 
The  Slavs  are  the  Russians,  Czechs,  Poles,  Slovaks, 
and  several  other  peoples  from  southeastern  Europe. 
Politically,  they  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  three 
Pennsylvania  counties.  When  a  certain  judge  was 
recently  elected,  a  politician  said,  "The  Huns  put 
him  there."  There  are  ten  municipalities  where  the 
native  Americans,  all  united,  could  not  outnumber 
or  out- vote  the  foreigners. 

Some  years  ago  the  men  in  the  mines  were  all 
English-speaking,  but  other  nationalities  have  forced 
them  out.  In  one  section  the  English-speaking  miners 
decreased  in  eleven  years  from  14,000  to  1,000,  while 
the  Slavs  increased  in  one  year  from  6,000  to  10,000. 
The  foreigners  would  work  for  less  money,  so  the 
scale  of  wages  was  gradually  reduced  until  the  recent 
great  coal  strike  brought  all  the  miners  under  the 
control  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America, 
and  wages  were  advanced,  and  the  hard  conditions  of 
their  employment  mitigated. 

The  work  of  raising  the  manhood  of  the  poor  is 
progressing  among  our  immigrants,  but  in  no  place 
more  slowly  than  in  the  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania ; 
yet  even  there,  there  has  been  some  improvement. 

26 


The  conditions  of  life  are  very  hard.  People  are 
literally  herded  together.  Often  in  a  house  of  but 
four  rooms,  a  man,  his  wife,  children,  and  as  many 
as  ten  boarders,  will  live.  From  the  time  when  they 
are  little  children,  the  miners  work  hard,  early  and 
late:  the  boys  in  the  coal  "breakers,"  where  they 
pick  out  the  slate  from  the  coal;  the  girls  in  the  home, 
helping  their  mothers  tend  the  babies,  scrub,  and  cook, 
until  at  about  seventeen,  they  marry  and  continue 
in  their  new  home  the  hard  life  they  have  had  under 
their  parents'  roof.  If  given  the  opportunity  of 
education,  they  eagerly  accept  it;  and  if  allowed  to 
continue  in  school,  they  easily  carry  off  the  honors. 
In  one  instance  there  were  eleven  Slavs  in  a  high 
school  with  forty-five  Americans,  but  the  Slavs 
excelled  all  the  others.  Their  desire  is  to  be  Ameri- 
cans. A  Polish  father  spoke  to  his  boy  in  his  native 
tongue,  and  the  boy  answered,  "  Father,  I'm  no  Hunk; 
I'm  an  American." 

The  lives  of  the  miners,  deep  down  below  the 
surface,  from  500  to  2,000  feet,  are  often  in  great  peril. 
Then  is  the  spirit  of  true  heroism  shown.  They  are 
as  heroic  as  any  body  of  soldiers,  for  again  and  again 
they  do  and  dare  for  their  comrades,  taking  their 
lives  in  their  hands.  Two  men,  heads  of  families, 
discovered  that  the  underground  engine-room  was 
on  fire.  There  were  fourteen  men  beyond.  Instantly 
they  gave  the  alarm,  and  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, they  started  to  warn  their  comrades.  As  they 
hurried  to  the  rescue,  the  smoke  grew  thicker.  They 
were  forced  to  turn  back  and  build  a  brattice  to  cut 
off  the  current  of  air,  thus  trusting  their  lives  to  the 
air  left  around  them.     After  nine  hours  they  were 

27 


rescued.  They  had  saved  the  lives  of  their  com- 
panions, but  there  was  no  reward  save  that  given  to 
every  brave  man  who  does  his  duty.  Surely  such 
men  should  find  their  place  in  the  kingdom  of  Him 
who  said,  "  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that 
a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends." 

But  how  shall  they  find  it,  unless  they  hear  the 
gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  its  purity  ?  These 
men  have  religious  possibilities.  In  their  veins  flows 
the  blood  of  martyrs ;  and  they  will  still  march  sturdily 
their  ten  miles  to  worship,  in  a  Church  that  gives 
them   little   comfort   or   guidance. 

Yes,  we  have  in  our  midst  a  people  holding  in- 
dustrial and  political  power  that  they  are  only  now 
discovering;  a  people  capable  of  education,  self- 
sacrifice,  and  religious  zeal.  Shall  we  dull  their  minds 
with  hard  labor,  starve  their  souls,  and  kindle  their 
hatred  by  our  coldness  and  greed  of  gain;  or  shall 
we  go  to  them  in  our  Master's  spirit,  and  bid  them 
enter  his  kingdom?  Their  spiritual  quickening 
is  what  should  concern  us.  The  work  done  in  the 
Settlements  and  Missions  of  our  cities,  is  needed  in 
the  miners'  "patches."  Some  of  our  missionaries 
have  tried  it,  and  this  is  the  result.  They  began 
with  a  kindergarten  which  gathered  children  speaking 
thirteen  different  languages.  "In  less  than  three 
months,  the  two  Christian  young  women  in  charge 
wrapped  them  all  up  in  American  speech,  gospel,  and 
song.  They  visit  the  mothers,  they  care  for  the  sick, 
they  have  a  night-school  for  men  and  boys,  they 
have  mothers '-meetings,  and  classes  for  girls,  they 
carry  on  a  Sunday-school,  they  plan  entertainments." 
From  their  lips  the  children  hear  for  the  first  time  the 

28 


stories  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  of  the  Christ  who 
blesses  little  children,  and  they  carry  these  stories 
to  their  homes.  Among  the  men  touched  were  several 
Italians  who  have  carried  the  gospel  back  to  their 
home  country.  One  of  them  was  denounced  by  the 
priest,  who  commanded  the  people  to  burn  the 
Bibles  they  had  received.  The  man  wrote  to  the 
missionary:  "  I  have  not  much  fear  of  their  doing  so, 
for  they  have  more  faith  in  the  books  and  in  me 
than  in  the  priest,  and  I  have  challenged  him  to  a 
debate  in  the  public  square,  inviting  the  Mayor  and 
town  officials.  I  know  I  am  not  a  learned  man,  but 
I  will  do  my  best.  Pray  for  me."  With  such  fruit 
from  a  small  sowing,  shall  we  not  sow  more  widely  ? 

The  Logging  Camp. 

But  let  us  leave  the  mines  and  those  who  work 
under  the  ground,  and  take  the  train  for  the  far  north- 
west, where  the  loggers  swing  their  axes  all  day  long 
in  the  bracing  air  of  the  forest.  The  logging  camp 
is  a  bee-hive  of  activity  by  October  ist.  How  many 
men  do  you  think  are  engaged  in  the  lumber  industry  ? 
Three  times  as  many  as  compose  the  standing  army 
of  the  United  States. 

If  we  drive  into  the  gigantic  timber  region  in  the 
winter,  we  may  find  the  mercury  40  degrees  below 
zero,  and  fur  alone  will  protect  us  from  the  biting 
cold,  for  we  are  "tenderfeet."  But  not  so  the  woods- 
man; he  laughs  at  the  cold,  and  works  from  early 
morn,  "with  no  thought  of  strikes,"  it  is  said,  "but 
the  strike  of  the  alarm  clock"  which  wakens  him 
before  dawn.  Dr.  Puddefoot,  in  his  interesting  book, 
"The  Minute-Man  on  The  Frontier"  describes  life 

29 


in  the  lumber  camp,  in  part,  as  follows:  "The 
snow  is  deep,  and  the  lordly  pines  are  dressed  like 
brides  in  purest  white.  Not  a  sound  is  heard  save 
our  sleigh-bells,  or  some  chattering  squirrel  that 
leaps  lightly  over  the  powdery  snow.  It  is  a  sight  of 
unsurpassed  beauty;  but  alas,  how  soon  the  change! 
An  army  of  brawny  men  invade  the  lovely  scene. 
Rude  houses  of  logs  are  quickly  erected,  and  men 
with  axe  and  saw  soon  change  the  view.  Inside  the 
largest  house  are  bunks,  one  above  another;  two 
huge  stoves,  one  at  each  end,  give  warmth;  while, 
in  picturesque  confusion,  socks  and  red  mackinaws 
and  shirts  hang  steaming  by  the  dozens.  There  is  a 
cock-loft,  where  the  men  write  their  letters,  and  rude 
benches,  where  they  sit  and  smoke  and  tell  yarns  till 
bedtime.  In  a  few  weeks  at  the  farthest,  the  grand  old 
forest  is  a  wreck;  a  few  scrubby  oaks  or  dwindling 
beech-trees  are  all  that  are  left.  The  buildings  rot 
down,  the  roofs  tumble  in,  and  solitude  reigns  supreme. 

"  On  stormy  days  hundreds  of  the  men  go  into  the 
nearest  village,  and  sin  revels  in  excess.  The  streets 
are  soon  filled  with  drunken  men,  ready  for  fight 
or  worse.  The  condition  of  the  loggers'  children  is 
pitiable,  brought  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  drunkenness 
and  debauchery;  swearing  as  natural  as  breathing; 
houses  packed  so  closely  that  you  can  reach  across 
from  one  window  to  another.  Diseases  of  all  kinds 
flourish,  and  death  is  ever  busy.  Eight  or  ten  nation- 
alities are  often  found  in  these  towns,  men  who  cannot 
spell  their  names  living  next  to  men  who  have  had  a 
college  or  university   course. 

"The  mission  churches  among  the  lumbermen  are 
like  springs  in  the  desert,"  but  they  are  all  too  few. 

30 


"These  villages  and  camps  ought  to  have  good  libra- 
ries, a  hall  well  lighted,  innocent  amusements,  lectures 
and  entertainments,  and  in  addition  to  this,  an  army 
of  men  carrying  good  books  and  visiting  all  the  camps, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  but  the  lack  of  money." 

Farm  Life. 

From  mine  and  forest,  we  will  travel  now  to  the 
rural  sections,  to  the  great  grain  fields  of  the  middle 
west,  where  many  of  the  best  class  of  immigrants 
from  northern  Europe  have  settled.  Let  us  follow 
that  company  of  Russians  bound  for  North  Dakota. 
When  they  get  there,  the  men  discard  their  Russian 
clothes,  and  dress  like  all  "cow-boys,"  in  flannel 
shirt,  jean  trousers  tucked  into  their  bootlegs,  and 
rough  slouch  hat.  The  boys  are  just  like  them.  The 
women  wear  short  skirts;  a  kerchief  tied  on  the 
head,  and  a  bit  of  gay  ribbon  in  addition,  makes  the 
younger  ones  look  attractive.  The  little  girls  wear 
dresses  like  their  mothers',  only  much  shorter!  The 
house  will  be  made  of  mud,  but  all  mud  houses  are 
not  alike.  At  first  they  will  roughly  put  up  a  shelter 
of  turf,  but  that  is  only  as  you  would  rig  up  a  tent 
to  camp  out.  Later  the  home  is  of  sun-dried  brick, 
ceiled  inside  with  wood,  whitewashed  everywhere, 
inside  and  out.  There  are  chimneys,  and  glass  win- 
dows,— a  very  comfortable  house,  and  is  it  any  more 
truly  "mud"  than  your  own  house  that  may  be  made 
of  brick? 

Our  boys  and  girls  from  the  stifling  misery  of 
Russia  speedily  enter  into  their  heritage  of  freedom. 
They  ride  ponies  with  the  fearlessness  of  young 
Indians,  and  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July  as  if  they  had 

31 


been  born  here.  Kirk  Munroe  tells  of  a  Russian  boy 
he  met  whom  he  called  the  "  acme  of  young  America." 
"I  met  him  alone  on  the  prairie,  miles  from  a  house, 
herding  sheep  with  a  bicycle,  a  cheerful  little  chap 
of  thirteen,  born  in  Russia.  He  said  the  wheel  was 
less  trouble  than  a  pony ;  it  did  not  have  to  be  watered, 
and  never  ran  away.  It  was  good  to  chase  coyotes 
when  they  came  sneaking  round  his  sheep.  He 
believed  he  could  run  one  down  if  only  he  could  make 
it  keep  to  the  road." 

All  through  the  northwest  there  are  thousands  of 
foreigners.  According  to  the  census  of  1900,  there 
were  807,000  of  them  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minne- 
sota, and  North  and  South  Dakota  who  could  not 
speak  a  word  of  English.  Many  of  these  live  in  solid 
settlements  of  one  nationality;  the  Bohemians  in 
Minnesota,  the  Russians  in  Dakota,  the  Poles  in 
Michigan,  the  Roumanians  in  Wisconsin;  while 
there  are  many  more  settlements  of  mixed  nationali- 
ties. On  the  fruit  farms  of  California  will  be  found  a 
number  of  Italians;  in  Alabama  there  are  Scandi- 
navians and  Germans;  Japanese  in  Texas  and 
Florida.  The  last  mentioned  are  to  experiment  in 
raising  silk,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  fruits. 

What  are  the  Christians  of  our  country  doing  to 
bring  Christ  to  these  foreigners?  What  difficulties 
and  encouragements  do  we  meet? 

The  settlements  composed  solidly  of  one  nationality 
are  much  harder  to  reach  than  the  mixed  settlements. 
In  the  former,  the  approach  has  to  be  made  through 
the  second  generation ;  the  elders  hold  fast  to  the  ways, 
customs,  and  religion  of  the  mother  country. 

In  a  mixed  population  it  is  easier   to  work.  Mis- 

32 


sionary  effort  is  carried  on  in  the  foreign  languages 
and  in  English.  Sometimes  a  Sunday-school  may 
be  conducted  in  English,  yet  have  two  or  three  foreign 
classes,  each  in  a  different  tongue.  One  obstacle 
encountered  is  the  number  of  Free  Thinkers,  and  those 
teaching  the  doctrines  of  Anarchy.  A  Bohemian- 
American  Catechism,  published  in  Chicago,  is  taught, 
it  is  claimed,  to  more  than  12,000  Bohemian  children 
in  Illinois  and  Iowa.  It  contains  such  statements  as 
these:  "  God  is  a  word  used  to  designate  an  imaginary 
being  which  people  of  themselves  have  devised." 
"There  is  no  heaven."  "Christianity  is  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  the  progress  of  mankind,  therefore  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  wipe  out  Christianity." 
"All  churches  are  impudent  humbugs." 

In  many  small  places  of  Minnesota,  the  Free 
Thinkers  have  halls  where  meetings  are  regularly 
held,  and  Sunday  evenings  are  given  up  to  social 
celebrations  with  suppers.  These  celebrations  require 
the  labor  of  the  women  and  children  in  preparation 
through  the  day,  thus  preventing  them  from  attend- 
ing church  or  Sunday-school.  The  leaders  embitter 
the  men  against  Christianity,  so  that  they  often  forbid 
the  women  to  read  the  Bible  or  attend  church.  The 
Roman  Catholic  priests  also  are  hostile,  and  try  to 
frighten  the  people  from  listening  to  the  missionary. 
But,  in  spite  of  these  difficulties,  there  is  a  splendid 
work  going  on,  and  there  are  loud  calls  for  more  help- 
ers. One  missionary  writes:  "On  Sunday  I  preached 
in  three  places,  driving  forty -four  miles.  There  are  so 
many  little  churches  without  pastors,  and  we  have 
none  to  send  them.  If  young  men  could  only  see 
this  work  face  to  face,  they  could  not  resist  its  call. 

3  33 


The  skirmish  line  is  far  ahead  of  the  army;  we  must 
drive  the  army  forward!'*  Men  of  grit  and  endurance 
are  the  kind  needed  in  the  Home  Mission  field.  One 
missionary  "built  a  little  hut,  the  roof  of  which  was 
shingled  with  oyster  cans.  His  room  was  so  small 
that  he  could  pour  out  his  coffee  at  the  table,  and 
without  getting  up  turn  his  flapjacks  on  the  stove. 
A  traveling  missionary,  visiting  him,  asked  him  where 
he  slept.  He  opened  a  little  trap-door  in  the  ceiling, 
and  as  the  good  woman  peered  in  she  said,  'Why, 
you  can't  stand  up  in  that  place.'  '  Bless  your  soul, 
madam,'  he  exclaimed,  'a  home  missionary  doesn't 
sleep  standing  up.'  " 

Questions. 
i.  What  noticeable  race  changes  have  taken  place 
in  the  mining  regions  in  the  past  few  years? 

2.  If  you  had  $10,000,  with  which  to  improve  the 

conditions    among    the    miners,    how    would 
you  spend  it? 

3.  Describe  the  life  in  a  logging  camp. 

4.  In  what  states  of  the  central  west  are  most  of  the 

foreigners  located? 

5.  Is  it  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  have  large 

settlements  of  but  one  nationality  in  a  com- 
munity ?     Why  ? 

6.  What  are  some  of  the  forces  of  evil  that  the  home 

missionary  has  to  combat  in  frontier  work? 

Books  for  the  Library. 
"The  Minute-Man  on  The   Frontier,"  by  W.  G. 
Puddefoot. 

"Those  Black  Diamond  Men,"  by  W.  F.  Gibbons. 

34 


STUDY  IV. 

flmmigratton  a  (menace  ano  a  (mission. 

"While  tlie  people  of  tlie  United  Slates  have  gladly  offered 
an  asylum  to  millions  upon  millions  of  tlie  distressed  and  un- 
fortunate of  other  lands  and  climes,  they  have  no  right  to  carry 
their  hospitality  one  step  beyond  tJie  line  where  American  in- 
stitutions, the  American  rate  of  wages,  the  American  standard 
of  living,  are  brought  into  serious  peril  " — General  Francis 
A.  Walker. 

"The  supreme  truth  *o  be  realized  is  that  nothing  but  Chris- 
tianity, as  incarnated  in  American  Protestantism,  can  preserve 
America's  free  institutions." — Howard  B.  Grose. 

The  American  flag  to-day  probably  floats  over 
more  races  than  any  other.  It  is  not  because  we  have 
gone  to  foreign  shores  as  conquerors,  but  because 
people  from  foreign  shores  have  come  to  us.  A  great 
army  of  people,  a  million  strong,  comes  to  us  every 
year  from  every  nation  under  heaven.  The  immi- 
grants are  exerting  a  mighty  influence  upon  our  land, 
and  unless  they  are  Christianized  and  Americanized 
by  assimilation  into  our  national  life,  they  will  be  an 
increasing  menace.  The  Vandals  and  Goths  over- 
threw Rome, the  greatest  political  power  of  the  ancient 
world.  Their  successors,  coming  not  with  sword  and 
spear,  but  with  foreign  speech,  strange  customs,  and 
un-American  spirit,  will  as  surely  undermine  our 
institutions  and  overthrow  our  Republic  as  did  their 

35 


ancient  sires  Rome,  if   we  are  not  aroused  to  the 
danger. 

Immigration  has  been  called  a  " peaceful  invasion," 
but  it  is  an  invasion  none  the  less,  and  a  menace  to 
our  national  and  religious  life.  But  it  is  a  mission 
as  well,  to  the  Church  and  to  Patriotism,  so  to  evan- 
gelize, educate,  and  legislate,  that  the  immigrant 
cannot  remain  an  alien,  but  will  become  a  loyal  and 
true  American.  Should  an  invading  army  approach 
our  shores,  the  call  to  arms  would  resound  throughout 
the  land,  and  there  would  be  thousands  of  volunteers 
to  defend  home  and  country  against  the  foe.  But 
the  "peaceful  invasion"  at  the  rate  of  more  than  two 
regiments  a  day  is  actually  taking  place.  The  in- 
vaders are  marching  into  our  cities,  our  mines,  our 
lumber  camps,  our  rural  districts.  They  are  forming 
distinctly  foreign  settlements,  thoroughly  un-Ameri- 
can in  spirit,  right  under  the  protection  of  the  stars 
and  stripes.  At  a  convention  of  French-Canadian 
Roman  Catholic  priests  held  in  Nashua,  N.  H.,  the 
following  mottoes  were  displayed:  "Our  tongue, 
our  nationality,  our  religion."  "Before  everything 
else,  let  us  remain  French !  "  Such  sentiments  should 
be  given  no  place  in  free  America.  Present  conditions 
constitute  a  call  to  the  people  of  our  land  to  defend 
our  liberty  and  our  institutions.  Patriotism  and 
the  Church  have  a  mission. 

Statement  of  the  Problem. 

Immigration  has  frequently  been  referred  to  as  a 

problem,  and  it  is.    Briefly  stated  it  is  this:    How  to 

Americanize  and  Christianize  the  immigrant.     For 

a  better  understanding  of  the  problem,  let  us  examine 

36 


some  actual  effects  of  immigration,  with  their  conse- 
quent perils,  and  then  try  to  discover  certain  forces 
that  will   aid  in  the  solving  of  the  problem. 

I.    Some    Actual    Effects    of    Immigration    and 
Consequent  Perils. 
The  effects  of  immigration  have  been  very  marked 
along    certain    distinct     lines, — racial,    commercial, 
social,  political,  and  religious. 

Racial. 

There  are  some  sixty  different  races  and  peoples 
living  in  the  United  States  to-day.  Two-thirds  of 
the  population  are  either  foreign-born,  or  are  the 
children  of  foreign-born  parents.  In  New  York 
City,  only  one-fifth  of  the  population  is  native  Ameri- 
can. The  metropolis  has  more  persons  by  the  name 
of  Cohen  than  Smith.  "New  England  is  no  longer 
Puritan  but  foreign.  So  is  it  in  the  middle  and 
central  west.  In  nineteen  of  the  northern  states, 
the  number  of  the  foreign-born  and  their  children 
exceeds  the  number  of  the  native-born."  It  is  also 
very  significant  that  the  birth  rate  of  the  native- 
born  is  decreasing,  while  that  of  the  foreign-born  is 
increasing.  As  far  as  race  is  concerned,  the  marked 
effect  of  immigration  is  that  the  native-born  is  being 
fast  outnumbered  by  the  foreigner. 

Is  there  any  peril  here?  Mr.  Eliot  Norton  thinks 
so,  the  danger  of  the  distinctly  American  type  becom- 
ing extinct.  He  says:  "It  needs  little  study  to  see 
of  what  great  value  to  any  body  of  men,  women,  and 
children  a  national  or  racial  type  is.  It  furnishes  a 
standard  of  conduct  by  which  any  one  can  set  his 

37 


course.  Now  national  character  can  only  be  formed 
in  a  population  which  is  stable.  The  repeated  intro- 
duction into  a  body  of  men,  of  other  men  of  different 
type  or  types,  cannot  but  tend  to  prevent  its  forma- 
tion. Thus  the  twenty-two  millions  of  immigrants 
that  have  landed  have  tended  to  break  up  the  type 
which  was  forming,  and  to  make  the  formation  of  any 
other  type  difficult.  Every  million  more  will  only 
intensify  this  result,  and  the  absence  of  a  national 
character  is  a  loss  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child." 

Commercial. 
In  speaking  of  the  commercial  effects  of  immigra- 
tion, we  mean  those  which  have  to  do  largely  with 
the  question  of  labor  and  occupation.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  immigrant  has  a  commercial  value,  that 
he  is  worth  so  much  to  the  community,  according  to 
his  ability  to  earn.  This  is  doubtless  true,  but  his 
coming  in  any  large  numbers  is  bound  to  have  its 
effect  upon  the  trades  or  occupations  in  which  he 
engages.  If  there  is  an  over-supply  of  labor,  the 
tendency  is  to  lower  wages  and  to  result  in  a  lower 
standard  of  living.  It  has  been  stated  by  those  who 
have  made  thorough  investigation  that,  except  in 
certain  parts  of  the  south  and  west,  where  farm 
laborers  and  their  families  are  desired  as  permanent 
settlers,  there  is  absolutely  no  demand  or  need  for 
foreign  labor.  There  are  men,  of  course,  who  will 
take  advantage  for  their  own  ends  of  the  unskilled 
ignorant  foreigner,  and  secure  his  services  at  much 
lower  wages  than  would  be  demanded  by  others; 
and  such  men  welcome  cheap  labor.  But  we  must 
not  forget  that  it  is  this  very  cheap  labor  that  has 

38 


driven  out  the  native  American  from  certain  lines 
of  work.  "As  long  as  society  was  homogeneous," 
says  Prescott  Hall  (that  is,  having  a  common  char- 
acter), "  Americans  were  ready  to  do  all  kinds  of  work. 
So  long  as  manual  labor  was  honorable  socially, 
all  the  manual  laborers  needed  could  have  been,  and 
would  have  been,  produced  by  the  increase  of  the 
native  stock." 

Increased  immigration  cannot  but  affect  our 
commercial  life,  and  is  a  real  peril  in  that  it  offers 
an  opportunity  to  the  unscrupulous  contractor  to 
secure  labor  at  starvation  wages,  reduces  the  laborers 
to  a  condition  often  worse  than  slavery,  and  makes 
them  and  their  families,  because  of  their  enforced 
manner  of  living,  sooner  or  later  dependent  upon 
charity,  or  drives  them  into  the  criminal  class.  The 
sweat-shop  and  child  labor,  with  all  their  attendant 
evils  to  mind  and  body,  are  a  result  of  the  increasing 
immigration,  and  wherever  they  exist  the  community 
is  in  peril. 

Social. 

Closely  akin  to  the  last-named  effect  of  immigra- 
tion, is  that  felt  on  society.  The  class  of  persons 
now  coming  in  such  numbers  to  our  shores  is  quite 
different  from  that  which  came  in  former  times. 
Class  and  race  distinctions  are  becoming  more  marked. 
Says  Prescott  Hall:  "A  democracy  to  be  a  success 
depends  on  the  intelligence  of  the  average  citizen. 
Wherever  civic  intelligence  and  initiative  are  low, 
democracy  becomes  impossible,  and  an  oligarchy 
or  an  empire  takes  its  place.  Wherever  a  superior 
and  an  inferior  race  are  brought  together,  one  must 

C9 


rule ;  and  one  will  withdraw  itself  socially  and  politi- 
cally from  the  other.  When  this  happens,  universal 
democracy  ceases  to  exist,  and  no  amount  of  preach- 
ing the  rights  of  men  or  any  other  theoretical  con- 
siderations will  modify  the  result."  Up  to  1880 
the  immigration  in  general  was  of  such  a  character 
that  it  could  be  and  was  assimilated  into  our  na- 
tional life.  It  was  largely  from  northern  Europe, 
but  now  it  is  different.  The  present-day  immigrant 
is  much  more  illiterate  than  those  coming  a  genera- 
tion ago.  Hence  he  is  much  harder  to  assimilate. 
Then  too,  he  is  criminally  inclined.  Thirty -five  per 
cent,  of  the  murders  are  committed  by  illiterate 
foreigners.  In  the  hard  coal  regions,  between  1880 
and  1890  the  population  increased  twenty-five  per 
cent.,  but  the  convictions  for  crime  increased  thirty- 
four  per  cent.  In  the  city  of  New  York,  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  those  living  in  the  slums  are  foreigners 
or  their  parents  were,  and  fifty -one  per  cent,  of 
these  are  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe.  In 
round  numbers,  the  foreigners  furnish  twice  as  many 
criminals,  two  and  one-half  times  as  many  insane, 
and  three  times  as  many  paupers,  as  do  the  native 
Americans.  It  is  very  significant,  too,  that  the 
children  of  foreigners  born  on  American  soil  furnish 
three  times  as  many  criminals  as  the  native-born,  and 
twice  as  many  as  the  foreign-born.  In  other  words, 
then,  "the  children  of  immigrants  are  therefore 
twice  as  dangerous  and  troublesome  as  the  immi- 
grants themselves." 

Do  not  these  figures  of  themselves  indicate  the 
peril  to  society  from  the  foreigner,  without  further 
comment  ? 

40 


Political. 

The  early  immigration  was  from  lands  familiar 
with  some  form  of  representative  government.  The 
foreigner  then  was  able  to  appreciate  our  form  of 
government,  and,  becoming  naturalized,  made  in 
most  cases  a  good  citizen.  But  to-day  the  bulk  of  im- 
migration is  from  lands  where  democracy  is  unknown. 
Persons  coming  from  such  lands  are  totally  unfit 
for  citizenship,  and  yet  they  are  becoming  naturalized 
at  a  rapid  rate,  and  in  their  hands  is  placed  the  ballot, 
which  many  of  them  cannot  so  much  as  read.  Pro- 
fessor Mayo-Smith  writes:  "The  German  vote  in 
many  localities  controls  the  action  of  political  leaders 
on  the  liquor  question,  oftentimes  in  opposition  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  native  community.  The  bad 
influence  of  a  purely  ignorant  vote  is  seen  in  the 
degradation  of  our  municipal  administrations  in 
America."  In  a  political  campaign,  the  foreign  vote 
has  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  leaders  speak  knowingly 
of  the  Italian,  the  Irish,  the  German,  and  the  Russian 
vote. 

The  peril  here  is  evident  to  every  thinking  person. 
Unless  strict  measures  are  taken,  it  will  only  be  a 
short  time  before  the  balance  of  political  control 
will  be  absolutely  in  the  hands  of  the  foreigners. 

Religious. 
But  the  effects  of  immigration  have  been  felt  not 
only  in  the  spheres  mentioned,  but  religiously  as 
well.  Of  the  immigrants  arriving  in  1900,  when  a 
religious  census  was  taken,  only  eighteen  and  one- 
half  per  cent,  were  Protestant,  while  fifty-two  per 
cent,  were    Roman    Catholic,  four    per  cent.  Greek 

4i 


Catholic,  ten  per  cent.  Jews,  and  fourteen  per  cent, 
other  religious  beliefs.  It  is  safe  to  say,  therefore, 
that  four  out  of  every  five  arriving  in  1900,  were 
not  in  sympathy  with  our  Protestant  Christianity. 
This  proportion  of  non-Protestants  has  marked 
the  immigration  since  the  large  increase  from 
southern  and  eastern  Europe.  What  effect  has 
it  had  upon  the  religious  life  of  the  nation?  It 
has  brought  into  our  midst  a  throng  of  people 
who  have  no  belief  in  God  or  regard  for  law.  In 
Chicago,  a  certain  group  of  foreigners  instruct 
their  children  from  a  catechism  which  teaches  atheism 
and  anarchy.  In  numerous  sections  of  the  land, 
the  Lord's  day  is  desecrated,  and  instead  of  being  a 
holy  day  as  formerly,  it  has  become  a  holiday  of  the 
worst  sort.  The  standards  of  morality  have  been 
lowered.  These  are  some  of  the  things  that  should 
cause  us  concern. 

Are  they  perils  ?     Undoubtedly. 

Wide  open  and  unguarded  stand  our  gates, 

And  through  them  x^resses  a  wild,  motley  throng — 

These  bringing  with  them  unknown  gods  and  rites, 
Those,  tiger  passions,  here  to  stretch  their  claws. 
In  street  and  alley  what  strange  tongues  are  these, 
Accents  of  menace  alien  to  our  air, 
Voices  that  once  the  Tower  of  Babel  knew! 

O  Liberty,  White  Goddess,  is  it  well 
To  leave  the  gates  unguarded?     On  thy  breast 
Fold  Sorrow's  children,  soothe  the  hurts  of  fate, 
Lift  the  down-trodden,  but  with  hand  of  steel 
Stay  those  who  to  thy  sacred  portal  come 
To  waste  the  gifts  of  freedom.    Have  a  care 
Lest  from  thy  brow  the  clustered  stars  be  torn 

42 


And  trampled  in  the  dust.    For  so  of  old 
The  thronging  Goth  and  Vandal  trampled  Rome. 
And  where  the  temples  of  the  Caesars  stood 
The  lean  wolf  unmolested  made  her  lair. 

— Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich. 


II.  The  Solution  of  the  Problem. 

In  the  solution  of  this  great  problem  of  immigra- 
tion, every  one  should  be  concerned, — the  nation, 
the  state,  society,  the  church,  the  individual.  There 
should  be  legislation  and  education  on  the  part  of 
the  nation  and  the  state,  philanthropy  on  the  part  of 
society,  evangelization  on  the  part  of  the  church, 
and  personal  effort  on  the  part  of  the  individual. 
Let  us  touch  upon  these  briefly. 

Legislation. 

We  have  immigration  laws  at  present,  but  in  view 
of  the  conditions  that  exist,  there  is  need  for  further 
legislation  that  will  restrict  immigration  to  those 
persons  who  will  become  loyal  Americans.  All 
others  are  undesirable  and  should  not  be  admitted. 
Some  legislation  would  also  be  valuable  looking 
towards  a  better  distribution  of  the  foreigners  already 
here,  relieving  the  over-crowded  sections  of  our 
large  cities,  and  sending  the  immigrants  to  the  less 
populated  regions  of  the  south  and  west.  The  sweat- 
shop   and    child    labor    should    also    be    prohibited. 

Education. 

The  public  school  is  often  pointed  to  as  one  of  the 
greatest  forces  in  helping  to  solve  the  immigration 

43 


problem.  There  the  children  are  given  such  instruc- 
tion as  should  result  in  making  them  loyal  Americans, 
and  in  most  cases  it  does.  In  one  such  school  in  New 
York  City,  there  are  twenty -nine  different  national- 
ities represented.  If  you  ask  these  children,  they  will 
tell  you  :  "Yes,  our  parents  did  come  from  Austria, 
Italy,  or  Russia,  but  we  are  Americans."  On  the  other 
hand,  Prescott  Hall  has  pointed  out  that  "courses  in 
history  and  government,  flag  exercises,  and  occasional 
readings  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  the 
schools,  have  only  a  superficial  effect.  It  is  even  said 
by  competent  observers  that  the  result  of  school 
education  of  immigrant  children  is  often  to  alienate 
the  children  from  their  parents.  The  children  cease 
to  have  much  in  common  with  their  parents,  in  some 
cases  feel  socially  above  them,  and  in  more  cases 
contract  a  dislike  for  manual  labor."  While  the  public 
school  can  certainly  do  a  great  deal,  yet  its  limita- 
tions must  be  recognized.  At  best  it  can  but  reach 
the  children,  while  their  parents  still  remain  in 
ignorance.  Some  means  of  elevating  and  educating 
the  latter  also  seems  necessary. 

Philanthropy. 
We  are  living  in  the  days  of  immense  wealth,  and 
of  dire  poverty,  too.  Men  of  the  former  class  are 
giving  large  sums  for  the  public  benefit.  But  as  yet, 
comparatively  little  has  been  done  to  better  the  social 
conditions  of  the  crowded  sections  of  the  large  cities. 
Here  is  a  great  opportunity  for  large-hearted  phil- 
anthropy, the  building  on  a  large  scale  of  model 
tenements,  the  construction  of  more  playgrounds 
and  parks.     For  until  the  conditions  in  which  the 

44 


foreigner  is  now  compelled  to  live  are  vastly  improved, 
we  cannot  expect  much  of  him. 

Evangelization. 
But  legislation,  education,  philanthropy,  are  all 
insufficient.  Something  more  is  needed.  Every- 
thing should  be  done  to  improve  the  outward  con- 
dition of  the  immigrant,  but  we  fail  as  Christians 
unless  we  give  to  him  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  gift  of  a  New  Testament  at  Ellis  Island  must  be 
followed  by  some  systematic  effort  to  get  in  touch 
with  the  immigrant  afterwards,  whether  he  settles 
in  the  city  or  goes  elsewhere.  Here  in  our  own  land 
we  have  the  opportunity  of  foreign  missions.  If 
we  do  not  go  abroad  to  preach  the  gospel,  then  God 
will  surely  hold  us  responsible  for  giving  the  message 
of  salvation  to  those  of  foreign  speech  right  at  our 
doors.  A  very  encouraging  work  has  been  done  for 
the  past  two  summers  in  New  York,  preaching  the 
gospel  in  the  open  air  and  in  tents,  and  hundreds 
who  would  not  enter  a  Protestant  church  have  listened 
attentively  to  the  truth.  One  result  is  the  formation 
of  a  Protestant  church  by  several  scores  of  Italian 
converts.  The  immigrant  will  hear  the  gospel  and 
will  accept  it  when  brought  to  him  by  men  eager  for 
his  salvation. 

Personal  Effort. 
After  all,  personal  effort  is  the  one  essential  in  the 
solving  of  the  immigration  problem.  The  nation, 
the  state,  society,  the  church,  are  all  made  up  of 
individuals,  but  these  organized  institutions  will 
never  accomplish  anything,  for  the  solution  of  any 

45 


problem,  unless  the  individual  sees  his  personal  duty 
and  does  it.  For  the  sake  of  our  country  which  we 
love,  for  the  sake  of  the  immigrant  who  needs  our 
help,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  who  died  that  all 
men  might  be  one,  let  us  not  be  recreant  to  duty  ! 

Questions. 

i.  Why  is  the  so  called  "peaceful  invasion"  of  immi- 
gration a  menace? 

2.  What  is  the  problem  of  immigration? 

3.  What  reason  is  there  to  fear  that  the  American 

type  is  dying  out  ? 

4.  What  relation  can  you  trace  between  the  sweat- 

shop, child  labor,  and  immigration? 

5.  What  proportion  of  the  criminal,  insane,  and  pauper 

classes  is  to  be  found  among  the  immigrants? 

6.  Why  are  so  many  of  the  present  class  of  immigrants 

unfit  for  citizenship? 

7.  What  have  we  to  fear  from  the  increasing  political 

power  of  the  foreigners? 

8.  What  is  significant  about  the  religious  attitude 

of  the  immigrant  ? 

9.  Along  what  lines  would  you  suggest  a  possible 

solution    of    the    immigration    problem? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

"Immigration,"  by  Prescott  Hall. 

"Aliens   or   Americans?"   by    Howard   B.    Grose. 


46 


STUDY  V. 

©ur  ffiesponatbtlits  for  Hn&fa's  flMllion& 

Ebe  XanD  anD  tbe  people  ot  unota. 

"One-fifth  of  the  inliabitants  of  the  globe  are  under  consider- 
ation when  one  studies  India,  a  fact  that  should  be  impressed 
indelibly  upon  the  Christian's  memory." — Beach. 

"What  am  I  to  understand  by  the  Trident?  The  answer  is, 
the  Trident  is  a  three-pronged  fork  which  appears  in  every 
temple  of  Siva  in  India.  It  doubtless  indicates  the  later  Hindu 
Triad.  It  has  thus  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  the 
Hindu  religion." — Vaughan, 

Various  titles,  more  or  less  descriptive,  have  been 
given  to  India.  It  has  been  called  the  "Land  of 
Idols, "  the  "  Land  of  Regrets, "  the  "  Twilight  Land, " 
and  the  "Land  of  the  Trident."  It  extends  from 
the  Himalaya  Mountains  on  the  north  to  the  Indian 
Ocean  on  the  south,  and  from  China  and  Siam  on  the 
east  to  the  borders  of  Persia  on  the  west.  The  distance 
from  east  to  west  at  its  widest  point,  including 
Burmah,  is  2,500  miles  and  about  2,000  from  north 
to  south.  It  contains  nearly  one  and  three  quarter 
million  square  miles,  and  is  a  little  more  than  half 
the  size  of  the  United  States. 

As  to  relative  location,  India's  most  northern 
point  is  in  the  same  latitude  as  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
its  southernmost  point,  Cape  Comorin,  would  be  a 

47 


little  south  of  Panama.  Two-thirds  of  the  territory 
is  under  British  control,  the  remainder  being  gov- 
erned by  native  chiefs.  The  fourteen  British  provinces 
are  ruled  by  British  governors,  who,  in  turn,  are 
subject    to    the    Governor-General    or    Viceroy. 

Natural  Divisions. 
There  are  four  general  divisions  of  the   Empire: 

(a)  The  region  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  in  the 
north. 

(b)  The  region  of  the  River  Plains. 

(c)  Southern  India,  called  the  Deccan. 

(d)  Burmah. 

(a)  The  Himalayan  Region  is  very  extensive. 
Its  snow-capped  mountains  separate  India  from 
China  and  Thibet  on  the  north.  The  word,  Him- 
alaya means,  in  Sanscrit,  "the  abode  of  snow."  No 
more  fitting  name  could  be  given  these  great  ranges. 
They  contain  some  of  the  highest  peaks  in  the  world, 
and,  in  fact,  Mt.  Everest,  the  loftiest,  rises  to  a 
height  exceeding  five  and  one  half  miles.  The 
scenery  is  grand  beyond  description,  surpassing  that 
of  the  Alps,  and,  in  consequence,  English  summer 
resorts  are  being  established  in  this  section.  Without 
these  great  mountains,  India  would  be  a  far  different 
land.  They  are  an  effective  barrier  against  invaders 
from  the  north,  and  in  their  snow-capped  heights 
the  great  rivers  which  water  the  plains  below  have 
their  source. 

(b)  The  River  Plains  lie  south  of  the  mountains 
where  flow  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges.  The  latter  is 
famous  as  one  of  the  sacred  rivers  of  India,  and  is 
supposed  to  flow   from  the  toe  of  Vishnu,  one  of 

48 


India's  most  popular  gods.  This  section  is  the  most 
densely  populated  part  of  the  whole  Empire,  and  is 
the  most  fertile.  Two  and  three  harvests  are  reaped 
annually.  "This  region  was  the  theatre  of  the  great 
race  movements  of  India's  history,  and  the  seat  of 
its  early  civilization." 

(c)  The  Deccan,  or  Southern  India,  is  the  triangular 
tableland  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Vindhaya 
Mountains,  the  other  two  sides  of  the  triangle  being 
enclosed  by  the  Eastern  and  Western  Ghats  or  hills, 
which  follow  the  coast  line  of  the  peninsula.  The 
word  Ghats  means,  literally,  "landing  stairs,"  and 
so  indicates  the  character  of  the  hills. 

(d)  Burmah,  the  Beautiful,  is  in  the  extreme 
east  of  the  Empire.  Orchids  whose  loveliness  would 
fill  an  American  florist  with  envy  are  as  common 
flowers  there  as  is  the  field  daisy  in  the  United  States. 
Rare  ferns  and  velvety  moss  abound,  while  "a 
Burmah  forest  in  March  is  bright  with  the  many 
colors,  and  sweet  with  the  varying  scents  of  thousands 
of  flowering  trees;   a  veritable  Eden." 

India  is  indeed  a  mighty  Empire !  Keshub- 
Chunder  Sen,  one  of  her  great  reformers,  has  said: 
"None  but  Jesus,  none  but  Jesus  deserves  to  wear 
the  bright  and  glorious  diadem  of  India,  and  Jesus 
Christ  shall  have  it !"  God  help  us  to  fulfil  this  pro- 
phetic utterance. 

Climate  and  Natural  Resources. 

The  products  and  climate  are  alike  varied.     The 

latter  is  for  the  most  part  semi-tropical,  depending 

upon  the  region  in  question.    There  are  three  seasons: 

the  cool  and  pleasant,  extending  from  October  to 

4  49 


late  February;  the  hot  and  dry,  covering  the  months 
from  March  to  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  the  rainy 
season,  from  late  June  through  September. 

As  to  products,  India  is  an  agricultural  land  where 
splendid  crops  are  raised  with  little  effort.  Rice, 
the  staff  of  life  for  one-third  of  the  population,  is 
raised  extensively.  Twenty  varieties  are  known  in 
the  single  province  of  Bengal.  If  you  lived  in  India, 
you  could  get  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  flour,  and  a  great 
variety  of  fruits  all  raised  on  native  soil.  You  would 
also  see  cotton  and  tobacco  growing.  The  mineral 
resources  are  very  meager.  Iron,  copper,  and  coal 
are  found,  and  a  small  quantity  of  gold.  If  you  enjoy 
hunting,  you  would  have  a  chance  to  shoot  big  game: 
lions,  tigers,  wolves,  leopards, bears,  and  the  rhinoceros. 

The  People. 
The  people  of  India  are  much  more  interesting  than 
their  land,  fascinating  as  its  study  may  be.  They 
number  nearly  300,000,000,  or  about  one-fifth  of  the 
population  of  the  world.  Within  an  area  a  little 
more  than  half  the  size  of  the  United  States,  there 
are  three  and  one-half  times  as  many  inhabitants; 
in  fact,  there  are  more  races  to-day  in  India  than  are 
found  in  all  of  Europe.  Their  languages  too  are  very 
different,  there  being,  in  1901,  eighteen  which  were 
spoken  by  more  than  a  million  people  each.  In  the 
whole  Empire,  it  has  been  stated  that  there  are  185 
different  languages  spoken.  Hindi  is  the  tongue 
spoken  by  the  largest  number. 

Racial  Types. 
For  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  may  divide  the  races 
50 


into  two  general  classes:  Aryan  and  non- Aryan. 
The  former  are  of  peculiar  interest  to  us  because 
they  and  we  have  a  common  ancestry.  Their  fore- 
fathers and  ours  came  from  the  same  stock.  The 
same  migration  from  the  original  home,  variously 
located  by  different  authorities  as  Asia,  Scandinavia, 
or  European  Russia,  took  certain  Aryans  to  India; 
others  to  Greece,  and  Rome,  and  still  others  to  Ger- 
many and  Britain,  the  last  named  being  our  ancestors. 

The  Aryans  entered  India  from  the  northwest, 
and  gradually  drove  the  original  settlers  before  them. 
To-day  they  are  known  as  Indo-Aryans.  They  live 
in  the  northern  and  northwestern  part  of  the  country, 
and  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  of  the  population, 
numbering  about  200,000,000. 

Of  the  non- Aryan  races,  who  were  the  original 
inhabitants  of  India,  little  is  known.  They  were 
Mongolians  and  came  from  the  northeast,  and  spread 
westward  in  the  river  plains. 

They  resembled  in  a  measure  the  Chinese.  Their 
descendants  now  live  in  central  and  northeast  India. 
The  people  now  in  the  south  are  a  different  type, 
having  coarser  features  and  darker  skins.  They 
probably  came  from  the  northwest,  crossing  the 
Vindhaya  range  into  the  Deccan.  They  number  to- 
day more  than  50,000,000. 

General  Characteristics. 
"The  Hindus  are  docile,  gentle,  peaceable  and 
temperate,  courteous  to  a  degree,  affectionate,  and 
naturally  religious."  They  possess  a  fair  amount  of 
intelligence,  the  Brahmans,  or  priestly  class,  being 
scholars,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  people  of  the  lower 

5i 


castes  are  illiterate.  They  are  very  conservative 
and  non-progressive.  Innovations  of  any  sort  are 
decried.  The  highest  good  in  life  is  to  follow  custom. 
Even  such  evils  as  child  marriage  and  enforced  widow- 
hood are  excused  on  this  ground.  Zealous  reformers 
shake  their  heads,  and  whisper,  "  Kya  Karurn?" 
"What  can  I  do?" 

Home  Life. 

The  family  consists  of  three  generations  living 
in  one  household,  and  all  property  is  held  in  common. 
The  homes  of  the  wealthy  are  large  and  rambling. 
They  are  surrounded  by  broad,  shady  verandas  for 
the  men,  while  one  facing  the  rear  is  used  by  the 
women.  In  the  middle  of  these  houses  are  two  courts. 
In  one  is  an  elevated  platform  used  for  worship. 
Overlooking  these  courts  are  latticed  galleries,  from 
behind  which  the  women  look  on  at  the  religious 
service,  which  they  are  not  allowed  to  attend,  for  they 
are  not  thought  worth  saving. 

The  homes  of  the  poor  are  usually  mud  huts  of 
one  room,  and  here  the  whole  family  lives,  and,  at 
times,  the  live  stock  as  well.  If  the  room  is  not 
large  enough  to  accommodate  all,  the  women  sleep 
out  of  doors,  for  cattle  are  sacred,  and  woman — well, 
she  is  nothing. 

Child  Widows. 
Child  marriages  have  been  the  custom  from  time 
immemorial.  Little  girls  yet  in  their  cradles,  or  at 
the  age  of  three  or  four,  are  betrothed  to  boys  slightly 
older,  and  at  seven  or  eight,  seldom  later  than  twelve, 
are  actually  married.  There  are  many  grandmothers 
in  India  not  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  age. 

52 


As  a  result  of  these  early  betrothals,  many  are  the 
child  widows,  for  if  the  boy  dies  before  marriage, 
the  girl  is  considered  widowed  just  as  much  as  if  he 
had  died  afterward,  and  she  can  never  marry.  Though 
an  absolutely  innocent  child,  she  is  condemned  to 
a  life  of  indescribable  misery.  She  is  shunned  and 
treated  with  great  cruelty,  even  by  her  own  parents. 
Her  very  touch  is  supposed  to  carry  pollution.  Two 
million  of  such  children  are  in  India  to-day.  But 
there  are  twenty  million  more  widows  who  have 
been  married,  and  whose  husbands  have  died.  Listen 
to  the  pathetic  prayer  of  one  of  them:  "O  Father 
of  the  world,  hast  Thou  not  created  us?  O  Almighty, 
hast  Thou  not  power  to  make  us  other  than  we  are, 
that  we  too  might  have  some  share  in  the  comforts 
of  this  life?  O  Lord,  save  us,  for  we  cannot  bear  our 
hard  lot.  O  God  of  mercy,  our  prayer  to  Thee  is 
this,  that  the  curse  may  be  removed  from  the  women 
of  India." 

The  ancient  custom  of  "suttee"  requiring  the 
widow  to  be  burned  to  death  on  her  husband's 
funeral  pyre,  has  been  abolished.  But  in  many 
cases  even  such  a  dreadful  death  would  be  preferable 
to  the  life  of  utter  degradation  and  misery  the  widow 
to-day  is  compelled  to  lead.  It  has  been  aptly 
characterized  as  "cold  suttee,"  and  is  more  pro- 
longed in  its  torture,  if  less  violent,  than  the  old 
practice. 

Condition  of  Women. 

The  great  mass  of  Hindu  women  live  a  life  of  slavery. 
They  have  no  rights.  As  the  case  may  be,  absolute 
obedience  to  father,  husband,  and  in  event  of  the 
latter's  death,  to  the  son,  is  required.    The  wife  may 

53 


not  eat  with  her  husband.  She  must  rather  wait  upon 
him,  and  she  and  her  daughters  will  eat  what  is  left. 

Some  of  the  proverbs  of  India  give  a  clear  insight 
as  to  the  regard  the  Hindus  have  for  women.  "  Woman 
is  the  gate  to  hell,"  "A  whirlpool  of  suspicions," 
"A  dwelling  place  of  vices,"  "What  poison  is  that 
which  appears  like  nectar?  Woman."  "Educating 
a  woman  is  like  putting  a  knife  in  the  hands  of  a 
monkey." 

Ignorance  among  women  is  accordingly  almost 
universal.  Only  one  in  fourteen  hundred  can  read. 
In  the  earliest  times,  when  the  Aryans  first  came  to 
India,  woman's  position  was  much  superior  to  what  it  is 
to-day ;  yet  it  was  strictly  enjoined  that  no  man  under 
penalty  of  hell,  should  teach  to  his  wife  or  daughters 
the  Vedas,  the  best  part  of  the  Hindu  Scriptures. 

Every  thoughtful  girl  and  woman  living  in  the 
Occident,  and  reading  these  things,  must  stop  a 
moment  and  ask  herself  the  question,  Why  are 
things  so  different  with  me  ?  must  stop  and  compare 
her  dearly  loved  liberty  with  the  imprisonment  of 
the  harem;  her  sacred  home  with  the  polygamous 
household  of  her  brown-skinned  sister,  and  ask 
WHY?  Has  the  geographical  position  of  the  two 
countries  made  the  difference?  Does  the  higher 
education  of  the  West  account  for  it?  No,  it  is  rather 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  that  gospel  India 
stands  in  sore  need  today. 

Questions. 
i.  Should   you   land   in   the    southernmost   part   of 
India,  and  travel  due  north,  through  what  sort 
of  country  would  you  pass? 

54 


2.  At  the  journey's  end,  what  would  be  the  relative 

location  in  America? 

3.  If  you  lived  in  India,  what  sort  of  food  could  you 

get  without  sending  out  of  the  Empire? 

4.  What  are  the  racial  reasons  why  we  should  be 

especially  interested  in  the  people  of  India? 

5.  How  would  the   average   Hindu  respond  to  the 

progressive   ideas   of   the   average   American? 

6.  Why  would  you  not  like  to  be  a  native  girl  or 

woman  in  India? 

7.  Mention    some    of   the    proverbs   that   show   the 

Hindu  opinion  of  woman. 

8.  What  can  the  gospel  of  Christ  do  for  such  con- 

ditions? 

Books  for  the  Library. 
Beach — "India  and  Christian  Opportunity." 
Mason — "Lux  Christi." 
Thoburn — "The  Christian  Conquest  of  India," 


55 


STUDY  VI. 

IRteton?  ant>  TReliQions. 

"Hinduism  is  perhaps  the  only  system  of  belief  that  is  worse 
than  having  no  religion  at  all." — De  Tocqueville. 

"The  only  salvation  of  India,  even  from  an  economic  point 
of  view,  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  have  longest  and  most  deeply 
studied  it,   is   its   Christianization." — Julian    Hawthorne. 

I.  The  History. 
The  political  history  of  the  people  of  India  is  so 
bound  up  with  their  religious  life  that  it  is  impossible 
to  study  the  former  without  bringing  in  the  latter. 
We  can  but  sketch  some  of  the  most  important 
periods  of  the  history,  and  point  out  the  chief  features 
of  the  religions  in  the  past  and  present. 

Three  Great  Eras. 
Politically,  we  may  divide  the  history  into  three 
great  periods:     The  Hindu  from  about  2000  B.  C. 
to  1000  A.  D.;  the  Mohammedan,  from  1000  to  1757; 
the  British,  from  1757  to  the  present. 

1.  The  Hindu  Era,  2000  B.  C. — 1000  A.  D. 
As  we  have  already  learned,  the  Aryan  invaders 
entered    Central    India   from    the    northwest   about 
2000  B.  C,  drove  back  the  inhabitants,  and  settled  in 

56 


the  Punjab.  Gradually  they  extended  their  control 
over  the  whole  of  the  country,  although  there  was 
never,  during  this  time,  any  central  place  of  govern- 
ment. There  was  no  real  national  life,  nor  has  there 
ever  been  in  India.  The  caste  system  has  effectually 
prevented  it. 

Invasions. 
During  the  Hindu  period,  there  was  a  series  of 
invasions  by  foreign  powers  that  exerted  more  or 
less  lasting  influence.  Chief  among  these  was  the 
Persian  in  508  B.  C,  under  Darius;  the  Greek,  under 
Alexander  the  Great  in  327  B.  C. ;  followed  by 
Bactrians  from  Northern  Afghanistan,  who  in  turn 
were  driven  out  by  Scythians  from  Central  Asia. 
India,  therefore,  has  not  lived  an  isolated  life  such  as 
China  or  Thibet,  but  has  been  molded  and  influenced 
by  contact  with  the  outside  world. 

2.  The  Mohammedan  Era,  1000  A.  D. — 1757. 
The  rapid  growth  of  Mohammedanism  is  one  of 
the  marvels  of  history.  It  set  out  to  conquer  the 
world.  In  664  A.  D.  it  first  entered  India.  Three 
hundred  years  later,  Mahmud,  the  Mohammedan 
ruler  of  the  little  kingdom  of  Ghanzi  (modern  Afghan- 
istan), led  seventeen  raids  into  the  Punjab,  conquered 
it,  and  annexed  it  to  his  kingdom.  By  1206,  all 
of  Northern  India  was  under  Mohammedan  control. 
A  century  later,  it  had  spread  over  the  Deccan  in 
the  south.  The  Mogul  Empire,  established  in  1526, 
was  Mohammedan.  Not  until  1857,  when  the 
British  Government  took  control,  taking  it  from 
the  hands  of  the  East  India  Company,  did  Moham- 

57 


medanism  lose  its  political  hold.  To-day,  King 
Edward  of  England  rules  over  one-third  of  all  Moham- 
medans in  the  world. 

Trade  With  Europe. 
During  this  Mohammedan  period,  India  first  came 
in  contact  with  modern  Europe;  but  it  was  with 
the  trader  rather  than  with  the  warrior  at  first.  The 
Portuguese  were  the  first  to  begin  trade,  then  the 
Dutch  and  the  English  and  the  French. 

3.  The  British  Era,  1757 — Present  Time. 

It  is  of  great  interest  to  note  how  so  small  an  inci- 
dent as  the  rise  in  the  price  of  pepper  from  three  shil- 
lings to  eight  was  what  led  the  English  first  to  India. 
The  Dutch  in  1599  who  traded  in  India  for  this  spice, 
formed  a  trust,  and  raised  the  price.  This  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  English  East  India  Company 
for  direct  trade.  Gradually,  Holland  and  Portugal 
were  driven  out,  and  the  French  and  English  traded 
side  by  side,  until,  at  the  battle  of  Plassey  in  1757 
in  the  Province  of  Bengal,  the  English  won  a  great 
victory  over  the  French  and  Bengalese.  This  proved 
to  be  the  beginning  of  English  authority  in  the  Pro- 
vince of  Bengal. 

This  battle  was  the  turning  point  in  England's 
policy  in  India.  Previously  the  East  India  Company 
had  been  there  simply  for  trade.  Now  it  became 
evident  that  conquest  was  also  desirable. 

Sepoy  Mutiny. 
In    1857,   just  one   hundred   years  after   Plassey, 
there  broke  out  what  is  known  as  the  Sepoy  Mutiny. 

58 


Both  Mohammedans  and  Hindus  throughout  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges  rose  against  the  English  rule, 
and  terrible  scenes  followed.  There  had  been  growing 
disaffection  because  of  the  growth  of  English  power, 
the  introduction  of  European  civilization,  and  the 
abolishing  of  old  customs.  "Last  of  all,  as  the  fuse 
which  fires  the  mine,  was  the  rumor  that  the  car- 
tridges given  to  the  native  soldiers  in  the  army  were 
greased  with  the  fat  of  cows,  the  animal  sacred  to 
the  Hindu;  and  with  the  fat  of  swine,  an  animal 
unclean  alike  to  Hindu  and  Mohammedan."  This 
meant  to  the  Sepoys,  a  disregard  of  their  sacred 
scruples,  and  revolt  followed.  The  mutiny  was 
finally  put  down,  but  the  control  of  the  country  now 
passed  from  the  hands  of  the  East  India  Company 
to  the  British  Government  proper.  This  was  an- 
nounced to  the  people  on  November  i,  1858;  and 
on  January  1,  1877,  at  a  great  durbar  or  court 
reception  held  at  Delhi,  the  site  of  the  ancient  Mogul 
capital,  Queen  Victoria  was  proclaimed  Empress  of 
India. 

India  To-day. 

Three-fifths  of  the  territory  of  India  is  under 
direct  control  of  England  to-day,  the  government 
being  administered  by  a  Viceroy,  who  rules  over 
fourteen  provinces,  with  his  capital  at  Calcutta.  In 
addition,  there  are  several  hundred  native  princes 
who  rule  their  kingdoms,  feudatory  to  Great  Britain. 
On  the  whole,  the  British  government  in  India  has 
been  marked  by  the  advancement  of  civilization  and 
general  improvement  of  conditions,  with  an  honest 
effort  to  administer  affairs  for  the  benefit  of  the  people. 

59 


II.  The  Religions  of  India. 
Turning  now  from  the  political  history,  we  would 
inquire  as  to  the  religious  life  of  the  people  of  India. 
We  have  already  learned  that  they  are  not  of  a  single 
race  or  language,  but  of  many.  Hence  they  differ 
widely  in  their  religious  beliefs  and  practices.  "Out 
of  one  thousand  natives  selected  from  the  different 
religions  in  their  due  proportions,  723  would  be 
Hindu,  199  Mohammedan,  24  Buddhist,  6  Sikh, 
8  Christian,  and  40  pagans."  Or,  in  other  words, 
among  India's  300,000,000,  only  one  person  in  one 
hundred  is  a  Christian. 

Minor  Faiths. 

There  are  many  minor  faiths,  such  as  Judaism, 
Parseeism,  Jainism,  Sikhism;  but  they  have  little 
hold  on  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  Hinduism  and 
Mohammedanism  are  the  popular  religions,  and 
Buddhism  in  Burmah  and  Ceylon. 

The  Jews  are  few  in  number,  less  than  20,000, 
and  are  mostly  in  and  near  Bombay.  They  have  two 
synagogues,  and  their  worship  is  much  like  that 
conducted  in  the  synagogues  in  the  time  of  Christ. 
The  Parsees  came  to  India  in  the  eighth  century, 
driven  from  Persia  by  the  Mohammedans.  They,  too, 
reside  mostly  in  Bombay,  and  there  are  nearly 
100,000  of  them  altogether.  Their  religion  is  Zoroas- 
trianism,  founded  by  Zoroaster  about  3000  B.  C. 
They  believe  in  two  great  opposing  deities,  one  good 
and  the  other  evil.  They  are  said  to  worship  fire 
and  the  sun,  which  they  regard  as  symbols  of  purity. 
They  are  the  most  progressive  of  all  the  people  of 
India,  and  "in  all  matters  of  civilization,  are  con- 

60 


siderably  in  advance  of  even  the  best  class  of  Hindus." 
The  Jains  number  about  one  million  and  a  half, 
and  form  the  commercial  class  of  India,  the  bankers 
and  merchants ;  though  in  the  south  they  are  mostly 
farmers.  Their  name  means  "victorious  ones," 
those  who  have  gotten  the  victory  over  themselves 
by  self-discipline. 

The  Sikhs,  of  whom  there  are  a  few  more  than 
2,000,000,  form  a  large  part  of  Britain's  native  army. 
The  sect  arose  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  about  the  time  Columbus  discovered 
America.  At  Amritsar  is  built  the  golden  temple, 
one  of  the  architectural  wonders  of  India;  and  in  it 
is  kept  the  Sikh  Bible,  called  "Granth."  This  they 
worship. 

All  these  various  forms  of  religious  belief  are  far 
superior  in  their  moral  character  to  Hinduism,  which 
holds  the  popular  mind  of  India  proper. 

Hinduism. 
Hinduism,  in  its  various  forms,  is  the  oldest  religion 
in  India  to-day.  It  has  passed  through  successive 
stages,  and  is  still  the  dominant  belief  of  the  masses. 
It  is  very  complex  and  difficult  of  analysis.  It  is  a 
combination  of  religion  and  philosophy,  contributed 
by  many  people  of  many  creeds  through  many 
centuries.  It  has  been  compared  to  an  immense 
glacier  which,  coming  down  the  mountainside, 
gathers  up  everything  that  is  in  its  path.  Hinduism 
has  no  real  unity  of  belief  or  practice,  nor  any  central 
figure,  as  has  Christianity  or  Buddhism.  A  man 
may  believe  anything  he  likes,  and  be  a  good  Hindu, 
so  long  as  he  observes  the  laws  of  caste, 

61 


Its  earliest  form  was  practised  by  the  contem- 
poraries of  Abram.  This  was  the  Vedic  age,  so 
called  from  the  name  of  the  Aryans'  sacred  writings, 
the  Vedas.  The  forces  of  nature  were  the  objects 
of  worship.  In  the  Vedas,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
"  suggestions  of  the  common  traditions  of  the  Creation, 
the  Fall,  and  the  Flood."  These  sacred  books, 
while  containing  some  sentiments  that  are  lofty  and 
inspiring,  are  in  the  main  tedious  and  puerile.  In 
point  of  antiquity,  they  are  surpassed  by  the  Old 
Testament,  "and  the  moral  elevation  of  the  latter 
shines  with  peculiar  lustre  by   comparison." 

Caste. 

The  second  stage  of  Hinduism  was  marked  by  the 
rapid  development  of  forms  and  ritual,  and  the  rise 
of  the  system  of  caste.  There  were  four  orders  or 
classes:  Brahmans  or  priests,  soldiers,  merchants, 
and  menials.  Those  lower  than  the  last  named  were 
regarded  as  outcasts,  pariahs;  so  low  that  "they 
needed  to  reach  up  to  touch  the  bottom."  There 
could  be  no  intermarriage  between  the  different 
castes,  nor  could  a  person  of  one  caste  eat  with  a 
person  belonging  to  another.  This  system  has  doubt- 
less done  more  to  put  a  blight  upon  India's  develop- 
ment than  any  other  one  thing.  Even  a  native 
Hindu  admits  "that  civilization  has  been  brought  to 
a  standstill  in  the  country  by  its  mischievous  restric- 
tions, and  there  is  no  hope  of  a  remedy  until  these 
restrictions   are  removed." 

It  prevents  the  expression  of  the  commonest 
feelings  of  humanity.  A  missionary  relates  the  story 
of  how  one  day  a  store  collapsed,  and  eight  persons 

62 


were  pinned  down  by  the  debris.  Though  hundreds 
of  natives  at  once  gathered,  not  one  would  lift  a  hand 
to  help,  for  fear  of  touching  an  unfortunate  who  might 
not  be  of  his  own  caste.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
Christian  missionary  and  his  helpers,  who  promptly 
went  to  the  rescue,  none  of  the  injured  would  have 
survived.  Rather  a  ludicrous  incident  is  told  by 
another  missionary.  His  Hindu  servant  would  not 
touch  any  meat  or  serve  it.  One  morning  when  an 
egg  was  desired  for  breakfast  in  addition  to  tea  and 
toast,  the  Hindu  came  in,  bearing  the  latter,  but  a 
Christian  servant  had  to  bring  the  egg.  The  Hindu 
would  not  handle  it,  "for  the  eating  of  an  egg  meant 
the  premature  destruction  of  a  chicken,  and  hence 
was  a  great  offense." 

Transmigration  of  Souls. 

For  thousands  of  years  one  of  the  chief  teachings 
of  Hinduism  has  been  transmigration.  It  is  thought 
that  the  soul  must  pass  through  8,400,000  re-births 
before  final  salvation  and  happiness  are  secured  by 
absorption  into  Brahm.  Future  incarnations  depend 
on  character  in  the  present  life.  If  a  man  lives  basely, 
he  may  be  re-born  as  a  wild  animal,  or  even  as  some 
plant  or  tree  or  insect.  If  he  has  done  well,  he  may 
be  re-born  in  a  higher  caste  or  as  one  of  the  gods. 
Man  can  never  escape  from  the  effect  of  all  his 
thoughts,  words,  and  deeds  in  each  one  of  his  incar- 
nations; and  these  combined,  called  "Karma,"  enter 
into  the  fixing  of  his  destiny. 

In  the  next  stage  of  development  there  was  a 
reaction  against  so  much  ritual  and  form,  and  the 
more  intelligent  turned  to  philosophy.    The  inquiry 

63 


was  how  to  escape  endless  transmigration,  and  men 
now  said  it  was  by  knowledge  rather  than  by  ritual. 

Modern  Hinduism. 

While  we  have  thus  traced  the  development  of 
Hinduism  from  earliest  times,  we  are  more  con- 
cerned with  what  it  is  in  India  to-day.  Modern 
Hinduism,  as  we  may  call  it,  is  centuries  old.  It 
dates  back  to  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  and  has  been  marked  by  deterioration,  as  the 
centuries  have  passed,  in  the  direction  of  gross 
sensuality. 

There  are  three  principal  systems  of  Hindu  phil- 
osophy in  India  to-day.  Chief  of  them  is  Vedantism. 
Its  two  foundation  principles  are  Illusion  and  Panthe- 
ism. The  world  in  which  we  live  has  no  real  existence, 
but  is  an  illusion,  and  it  is  because  of  ignorance  that 
men  believe  it  has  any  existence.  The  only  reality 
is  Brahm,  an  impersonal  Being.  It  is  through  illusion 
that  this  absolute  Being  has  made  any  manifestation 
of  Itself;  and  hence,  what  we  think  to  be  the  universe 
is,  in  reality,  Brahm.  This  is,  of  course,  pure  Panthe- 
ism, identifying  God  and  the  universe.  It  led  to 
gross  polytheism;  for  everything  being  God,  from 
the  blade  of  grass  to  man  himself,  all  things  are 
objects  of  worship.  Deities  were  thus  multiplied  to 
the  number  of  330,000,000. 

The  Hindu  Triad. 

Modern   Hinduism   teaches   that   there   are  three 

gods  who  are  the  principal  manifestations  of  Brahm 

the  Impersonal,  forming  a  striking  contrast  to  the 

Christian   Trinity.     They   are   Brahma    (masculine) 

64 


the  Creator,  Vishnu  the  Preserver,  Siva  the  Destroyer. 
Each  of  these  gods  has  a  wife.  Kali,  the  wife  of  Siva, 
and  Vishnu,  in  some  of  his  many  incarnations,  are 
the  two  most  widely  worshiped  in  India  to-day. 

There  is  a  story  told  explaining  Vishnu's  popularity. 
A  dispute  having  arisen  among  the  wise  men  of  old 
as  to  which  was  the  greatest  of  the  gods,  one  of  the 
sages  said  he  would  put  them  to  a  test.  He  visited 
each  one  in  turn.  He  went  first  to  Brahma,  but  did 
not  bow  down  before  him.  The  god  was  very  angry, 
but  was  at  length  pacified.  Next,  Siva  was  visited, 
and  when  he  greeted  the  wise  man,  the  latter  paid 
no  attention  to  him.  The  god  was  so  enraged  that, 
if  his  wife  had  not  interceded  for  him,  he  would  have 
killed  the  sage  then  and  there.  Lastly,  a  visit  was 
paid  to  Vishnu,  who  was  asleep  when  the  wise  man 
called.  To  waken  him,  he  kicked  him  as  hard  as 
he  could  in  the  breast.  Instead  of  being  angry, 
Vishnu  begged  the  sage's  pardon  for  being  asleep 
when  he  called,  and  thanked  him  for  the  kick,  which 
he  said  had  made  an  indelible  mark  of  good  fortune 
on  his  breast.  He  hoped  the  wise  man's  foot  was  not 
hurt,  and  began  to  rub  it  gently.  "This,"  said  the 
sage,  "is  the  mightiest  god:  he  overpowers  his  enemies 
by  the  most  potent  of  all  weapons,  gentleness  and 
generosity." 

Krishna  Worship. 
Vishnu  has  had  nine  incarnations,  not  all  in  human 
form,  for  the  first  was  a  fish,  then  a  tortoise,  next  a 
boar.  The  eighth,  was  Krishna,  a  cow-herd,  base  and 
immoral,  and  his  worship  is  the  most  common  in 
India  to-day.  By  many  Hindus,  he  is  compared 
5  65 


favorably  with  Christ.  But  an  impartial  investiga- 
tion of  the  facts  shows  that  as  a  boy  Krishna  was  a 
liar,  wilful,  and  disobedient;  as  a  man  he  was  grossly 
immoral,  and  delighted  in  warfare.  Any  volume 
dealing  in  detail  with  Hinduism  will  satisfy  any 
unbiased  mind  that  Christ  and  Krishna  should  not 
be  mentioned  in  the  same  breath.  The  worship  of 
Krishna  is  sensual  in  the  extreme. 

Sakti  worship,  a  form  of  the  worship  of  Kali,  is 
also  widely  practised,  and  is  likewise  base  immorality 
under  the  guise  of  religion. 

In  addition  to  these  gross  forms  of  worship,  many 
of  the  people  worship  plants,  trees,  rivers,  pools;  ani- 
mals, such  as  the  cow,  the  bull,  monkeys,  and  snakes; 
and  living  men,  the  Brahmans  or  priests.  Frequent 
pilgrimages  are  taken  to  sacred  rivers  and  cities. 
"Benares  is  the  Jerusalem  of  Hinduism.  Here, 
temples,  idols  and  symbols,  sacred  wells,  springs  and 
pools  are  multiplied  beyond  all  calculation.  Here, 
every  particle  of  ground  is  believed  to  be  hallowed, 
and  the  very  air  is  holy.  The  number  of  temples 
is  at  least  2000,  not  counting  smaller  shrines." 

Worship  is  "mainly  personal  service  to  the  gods, 
the  priests  being  their  valets  and  butlers,  the  people 
being  absent  or  else  passive  spectators."  In  one  of 
Siva's  temples,  there  are  twenty-two  ceremonial 
acts  performed  every  day  in  the  worship.  "Ten  of 
these  have  to  do  with  the  god's  dress  and  sleep,  and 
nine  are  connected  with  as  many  meals  which  he 
daily  enjoys."  At  dawn,  he  is  awakened  by  the 
waving  of  lights  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  His  teeth 
are  brushed,  and  he  is  dressed  for  the  day.  All  this 
is  the  work  of  the  priests;   the  people  simply  come 

66 


to  the  temple  to  look  upon  the  god,  prostrate  them- 
selves before  him,  offer  their  gifts,  and  secure  pardon. 

Three  Characteristics  of  Hinduism. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  that  there  is 
no  real  unity  to  Hinduism.  There  are  three  things, 
however,  which  seem  to  characterize  it:  Pantheism, 
as  a  creed;  Idolatry,  as  a  worship;  Caste,  as  a  social 
system. 

Strength  and  Weakness  of  Hinduism. 
Hinduism,  securing  the  allegiance  of  200,000,000 
people,  is  a  power  in  India  to-day,  as  it  has  been  for 
centuries.  It  has  undoubtedly  strong  points:  the 
sanctity  of  life,  and  the  inculcating  of  the  passive 
virtues  of  patience  and  submission.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  has  fatal  defects.  Another  has 
pointed  out  that  it  robs  man  of  a  personal  God; 
destroys  conscience,  asserting  that  sin  is  an  illusion 
or  a  manifestation  of  God;  teaches  fatalism,  rob- 
bing man  of  the  power  of  choice  and  the  freedom 
of  the  will.  It  upholds  an  iniquitous  caste  system, 
which  effectually  prevents  all  national  unity,  reform, 
and  even  charity.  It  is  accompanied  by  the  en- 
thronement of  lust  and  gross  idolatry,  and  degrades 
woman. 

Contrasted  with  Christianity. 
These  deficiencies  appear  upon  the  surface,  but 
when  contrasted  with  Christianity,  the  inadequacy 
of  Hinduism  to  meet  the  needs  of  man  is  seen  even 
more  clearly.  The  ideas  of  God  and  of  man;  of 
salvation,   and   the  means  of  securing  it,   all   differ. 

67 


Christianity  is  monotheistic,  one  God;  Hinduism  is 
pantheistic,  all  is  God.  Christianity  teaches  creation 
by  God;  Hinduism,  the  eternity  of  matter.  Chris- 
tianity teaches  that  man  is  personal,  with  a  capacity 
for  God;  Hinduism  says  personality  is  an  illusion. 
As  to  salvation  or  the  ultimate  aim  or  goal,  Chris- 
tianity declares  that  it  is  a  perfected,  glorified  per- 
sonality like  unto  Christ ;  Hinduism  declares  it  to  be 
a  personality  that  completely  loses  itself  in  Brahm. 
Christianity  says  sin  is  rebellion  against  God;  Hindu- 
ism says  it  is  not  a  moral  defect,  but  mental,  due 
to  ignorance.  As  to  the  means  employed  to  secure 
salvation,  in  Christianity,  God  saves  man  ;  in  Hindu- 
ism, man  saves  himself  by  ritual,  by  knowledge,  or 
by  worship.  Christianity  says  regeneration  is  the 
divine  means  :   Hinduism  says  transmigration. 

Buddhism  in  India. 
While  the  Buddhists  are  not  nearly  so  numerous 
as  the  Mohammedans  in  India  to-day,  in  point  of 
time  Buddhism  should  next  be  considered.  It 
arose  during  the  sixth  century  B.  C,  and  was  a  pro- 
test against  the  formal  ritualism  of  the  Hinduism 
of  the  day.  It  taught  morality,  forbidding  the  taking 
of  life,  adultery,  lying,  stealing,  and  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cants. But  the  Buddhist  basis  of  all  morality  is 
self-interest,  and  consequently  differs  radically  from 
Christian  morality.  Nirvana,  the  utter  extinction 
of  existence,  was  the  goal  to  be  sought.  Buddhism 
denies  the  existence  of  any  personal  God.  But  the 
human  longing  to  worship  something  has  led  practi- 
cally to  a  deification  of  Buddha  himself,  so  that  his 
image    is    worshiped  by   devout    Buddhists   every- 

68 


where.  This  system  of  belief  exerted  a  wonderful 
influence  all  over  India  for  a  thousand  years,  but 
to-day  is  confined  chiefly  to  Ceylon  and  Burmah  as 
far  as  India  is  concerned.  Elsewhere  in  Asia  it  is 
still  a  mighty  force,  and  numbers  400,000,000  ad- 
herents. In  Burmah  are  hundreds  of  pagodas,  which 
are  the  Buddhist  places  of  worship.  Many  of  them 
have  been  built  in  memory  of  Buddha  in  order  to 
secure  merit. 

Mohammedanism . 

In  point  of  numbers,  the  Mohammedans  rank  next 
to  the  Hindus;  for  there  are  more  than  60,000,000 
of  them  in  India  at  present.  True  to  their  character 
elsewhere,  they  are  the  most  fanatical  and  bigoted 
of  the  population,  opposed  to  every  sort  of  reform, 
and  the  implacable  foes  of  Christianity.  Buddhism, 
as  we  have  seen,  arose  in  the  sixth  century  before 
Christ ;    Mohammedanism  in  the  sixth  century  after. 

Mohammed  was  born  in  570  A.  D.  in  Mecca,  Arabia. 
He  was  a  camel  driver,  and,  in  the  course  of  trade, 
came  in  contact  with  certain  Jews  from  whom  he 
derived  many  of  his  religious  ideas.  His  genius 
"mixed  old  ingredients  into  a  new  panacea  for  hu- 
manity; sugar-coated  it  with  an  easy-going  morality, 
and  forced  it  down  by  means  of  the  sword." 

The  Bible  of  Mohammedans  is  the  Koran,  slightly 
shorter  than  the  New  Testament,  and  containing 
114  chapters.  It  is  filled  with  historical  errors, 
superstitions,  and  fables,  and  sanctions  slavery, 
polygamy,  divorce,  the  degradation  of  woman,  and 
religious  intolerance.  Its  gravest  defect  is  its  failure 
to  mention  redemption  by  sacrifice.    There  is  no  place 

69 


for  atonement  in  its  teaching.  The  Mohammedan's 
idea  of  heaven  is  a  place  where  all  his  sensual  desires 
will  be  fully  gratified.  Mohammedanism  has  been  a 
religion  of  martial  conquest,  and  has  had  phenomenal 
success.  Its  devotees  permitted  to  others  but  one 
alternative — Mohammedanism  or  the  sword. 

The  Outlook. 
Into  this  land  of  India,  centuries  old  but  sunken  in 
sensuality  and  idolatry,  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  has 
come.  The  Christian  population  is  yet  insignificant, 
as  far  as  numbers  are  concerned,  but  3,000,000  out 
of  India's  300,000,000.  But  a  brighter  day  is  ahead. 
There  are  signs  of  Christian  conquest.  Last  year,  in 
the  now  historic  library  of  William  Carey  inSerampore, 
a  native  missionary  society  was  organized,  to  be 
conducted  and  supported  wholly  by  the  native  Indian 
Christians  themselves.  Already  it  has  enlisted  some 
of  the  most  intelligent  and  zealous  of  the  young  men 
of  India.  The  twentieth  century  is  to  witness  a  great 
conflict  between  the  combined  forces  of  heathenism 
and  Christianity,  and  the  battle  will  wage  but  feebly 
unless  men  and  supplies  are  speedily  and  constantly 
sent  to  the  front  by  the  church  at  home.  Let  this 
be  our  watchword:  "The  Cross  in  the  land  of  the 
Trident." 

Questions. 

1.  Mention    the    three    periods    of    India's    political 

history,   and   the  length   of   each. 

2.  Trace  the  development  of  English  control  of  India. 

3.  Which  of  the  minor  faiths  of  India  teaches  the 

highest  morality  ? 

70 


4.  What  are  Hinduism's  strong  points,  and  what  its 

chief  defects? 

5.  Mention    three    characteristics    of    present    day- 

Hinduism,    as   to    creed,    worship,    and   as   a 
social  system. 

6.  What  is  the  most  popular  form  of  Hindu  worship 

in   India  to-day? 

7.  What  are  the  chief  tenets  of  Buddhism? 

8.  Why  has  Mohammedanism  such  power  in  India 

at  present? 

9.  Which  of  these  three  religions  do  you  consider 

the  best,  and  why? 

10.  Why  are  they  all  inadequate  to  meet  the  spiritual 

needs  of  men  ? 

11.  What  is  the  strongest  reason  you  can  give  for 

sending  the  gospel  to  India? 

Books  for  the  Library. 
H.  P.  Beach — "India  and  Christian  Opportunity." 
H.  P.  Beach— "The  Cross  in  the  land  of  the  Trident." 
J.  P.  Jones — "Krishna  or  Christ." 
C.  A.  Mason — "Lux  Christi." 
C.  A.  Mason— "The  Little  Green  God." 
"Religions    of    Mission    Fields"  —  Published    by 
Student  Volunteer  Movement. 

J.  M.  Thoburn — "The  Christian  Conquest  of  India." 
M.  Williams — "Brahmanism  and  Hinduism." 


71 


STUDY  VII. 

TKHilliam  Care?,  Xtterar?  TKHorft, 
1761*1834, 

Jftrst  flrttestonarB  of  tbe  ffirst  missionary  Society 
in  jenglanD. 

For  forty-one  years  a  missionary  to  India  without  a  fur- 
lough. 

**/  rejoice  that  God  has  given  me  this  great  favor,  to  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  May 
I  but  be  useful  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  church  of  Christ 
in  India.  I  desire  no  greater  reward,  and  can  conceive  no 
higher  honor.'" — William  Carey. 

His  Life  Motto — "Expect  great  things  from  God;  Attempt 
great  things  for  God.". 

The  name  of  William  Carey  is  immortal  in  mis- 
sionary history,  not  merely  because  of  its  associations 
with  the  land  of  India,  but  also  because  he  was  the 
founder  of  the  modern  missionary  movement  in 
England.  He  is  sometimes  called  the  Father  of 
Modern  Missions.  Before  his  time,  there  had  been 
little  or  no  interest  in  missions  abroad  either  in  the 
Established  Church  or  among  Dissenters.  In  1709, 
in  Scotland,  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
Christian  Knowledge  had  been  organized,  chiefly  to 
send  the  gospel  to  the  Indians  of  North  America.  But 
in  England  there  was  not  a  single  missionary  society. 

72 


Early  Christianity  in  India. 

Before  considering  the  work  of  Carey  and  of  the 
other  great  missionaries  who  followed  him,  we  must 
not  forget  that  tradition  says  that  Christianity  was 
introduced  into  India  as  early  as  apostolic  days  by 
Thomas,  one  of  the  Twelve.  Whether  this  be  true 
or  not,  in  keeping  with  the  tradition  there  is  near 
Madras  a  hill  called  St.  Thomas'  Mount  in  honor  of 
the  Apostle.  By  the  fifth  century  there  were  Nes- 
torian  Christians  in  India,  and  in  1291  the  first 
Roman  Catholic  missionary  arrived.  Francis  Xavier, 
the  Jesuit,  labored  there  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
When  the  Dutch  began  trade  in  the  next  century, 
Protestantism  was  first  introduced,  for  the  charter  of 
the  trading  company  required  that  the  gospel  should 
be  given  to  the  natives.  But  it  was  of  a  mechanical 
type,    and   lacked    the    spirit    of   true    Christianity. 

The  earliest  successful  Protestant  mission  to  do 
real  evangelical  work  is  known  as  the  Danish-Halle, 
so  called  because  its  first  missionaries  came  from 
Halle,  Germany,  and  were  sent  out  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  King  of  Denmark.  The  Mission  stood  for 
pure  Christianity,  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
education  of  the  natives.  Ziegenbalg  and  Schwartz 
were  the  most  illustrious  representatives  of  this 
work,  and  were  the  forerunners  of  that  great  line  of 
Protestant  missionaries,  four  of  whom  we  are  to 
consider  in  these  Studies. 

Carey's  Early  Life. 

William  Carey  was  born  at  Paulerspury,  a  little 
village  in  the  middle  of  England  on  August  17,  1761. 

73 


It  was  the  region  from  which  came  such  men  as 
Shakespeare,  Wycliffe,  and  Bunyan.  He  was  the 
eldest  of  five  children,  and  his  early  life  was  influenced 
largely  by  his  grandmother,  who  was  very  devout. 
His  parents  were  very  poor,  his  father  being  a  weaver, 
and  it  seemed  as  though  there  were  no  brighter 
prospect  for  the  son  than  to  follow  the  trade  of  his 
father  or  to  be  a  common  laborer.  But  God  had 
destined  him  otherwise.  Little  did  his  family  or 
school-fellows  realize  the  great  gifts  he  possessed; 
but  even  in  his  earlier  years,  he  showed  a  great  love 
for  books  of  science  and  travel,  a  remarkable  power 
of  observation,  love  of  nature,  perseverance,  and  a 
great  aptitude  for  languages.  At  twelve,  he  mastered 
the  one  Latin  book  he  possessed.  A  little  later  he 
learned  Greek  and  Hebrew  and  Dutch,  and  he  gained 
a  working  knowledge  of  French  in  three  weeks. 
This  was  but  indicative  of  what  he  would  do  later  in 
India  as  a  translator. 

His  schooling  was  finished  at  fourteen.  At  sixteen, 
he  was  apprenticed  to  a  shoemaker  in  Hackleton. 
It  was  in  the  shoe-shop  that  he  was  led  to  Christ  by 
a  fellow-apprentice,  and  at  the  cobbler's  bench  that 
he  prayed  and  laid  his  plans  for  foreign  missions. 

Enters  the  Ministry. 
Though  brought  up  in  the  Church  of  England, 
after  going  to  Hackleton  he  joined  the  Dissenters, 
and  when  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  was  baptized, 
His  conversion  was  genuine,  and  he  soon  began  to 
preach  very  acceptably.  On  August  i,  1787,  he 
was  ordained,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Moult  on,  where  his  salary  did  not  exceed 

74 


$75-oo  Per  year.  Having  married  when  he  was  but 
twenty,  this  small  salary  was  quite  insufficient  to 
meet  the  needs  of  his  family,  so  he  continued  his 
cobbling  of  shoes  at  night,  taught  school  in  the  day- 
time, and  preached  on  Sundays.  He  was  so  poor 
that  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  him  to  be  without 
food,  but  he  made  no  complaint. 

Growth  of  His  Missionary  Idea. 
As  he  taught  the  children  geography,  and  read 
carefully  his  Bible,  he  felt  strongly  that  the  church 
had  an  obligation  to  give  the  gospel  to  the  heathen. 
As  a  boy  he  had  been  so  fond  of  reading  voyages 
and  travels  that  his  schoolmates  gave  him  the  nick- 
name of  "  Columbus. "  An  account  of  Captain  Cook's 
Voyages  fell  into  his  hands  about  this  time,  and  he 
became  more  interested  than  ever  in  the  heathen. 
Their  helpless  condition  preyed  upon  him,  especially 
the  evils  of  slavery,  and  his  sister  says  that  she 
remembers  his  never  offering  prayer  in  his  family 
or  in  public  that  he  did  not  remember  those  enslaved. 
In  his  shoe-shop,  he  had  upon  the  wall  a  map  which 
he  made  himself.  On  it  he  noted  any  information 
he  could  secure  regarding  the  peoples  and  needs  in 
foreign  lands.  He  talked  to  his  fellow-ministers 
about  missions,  and  at  one  of  the  ministers'  meetings 
he  proposed  as  a  topic  for  discussion,  "Whether  the 
command  given  to  the  apostles  to  teach  all  nations 
was  not  obligatory  on  all  succeeding  ministers  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  seeing  that  the  accompanying 
promise  was  of  equal  extent."  But  he  was  rebuked 
by  the  chairman,  who  called  him  a  miserable  enthu- 
siast for  asking  such  a  question. 

75 


Shortly  after  this,  Carey  published  his  famous 
pamphlet,  "An  Enquiry  into  the  Obligations  of 
Christians  to  use  means  for  the  Conversion  of  the 
Heathen."  He  made  use  of  the  same  arguments 
as  does  Paul  in  Romans  10:  12-15,  and  concluded  it 
with  the  practical  suggestion  that  a  missionary 
society  be  formed  to  send  the  gospel  abroad,  and 
that  Christians  be  urged  to  contribute  one-tenth  of 
their  incomes  for  the  work  at  home  and  in  foreign 
lands,  or  at  least  a  penny  a  week  per  member  for  the 
work  among  the  heathen. 

Having  been  called  to  the  church  in  Leicester,  he 
removed  from  Moulton  in  1789.  It  was  in  1792  that 
he  was  invited  to  preach  the  sermon  at  the  ministers' 
meeting  held  in  Nottingham.  Just  nine  years  before, 
in  this  same  place,  had  originated  what  is  now  known 
as  the  "  Concert  of  Prayer, "  a  plan  to  unite  Christians 
in  concerted  prayer  an  hour  the  first  Monday  of  every 
month  for  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit,  and  for 
the  spirit  of  missions  throughout  the  world.  Carey 
took  as  the  text  of  his  sermon:  Isaiah  54:  2,  3,  and 
his  two  divisions  were:  "  Expect  great  things  from  God: 
Attempt  great  things  for  God." 

A  deep  impression  was  made,  and  Carey,  fearing 
it  should  be  dissipated,  seized  Andrew  Fuller  by  the 
arm,  and  exclaimed,  "And  are  you,  after  all,  going 
again  to  do  nothing?"  Carey's  zeal  and  prayers 
were  not  without  effect,  for  four  months  later,  on 
October  2,  1792,  in  the  parlor  of  the  Widow  Wallis 
at  Kettering,  was  formed  the  first  purely  English 
Missionary  Society.  It  was  composed  of  twelve 
village  ministers,  and  they  named  their  organization 
"The    Particular    (Calvinistic)    Baptist    Society    for 

76 


Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  Heathen."  The 
Church  of  England,  Congregationalists,  and  Presby- 
terians, all  held  aloof  and  would  have  no  part  in  the 
undertaking,  but  all  honor  to  the  twelve  men  of 
faith  who  in  spite,  of  ridicule  and  indifference,  inspired 
by  Carey's  faith  formed  the  first  English  Missionary 
Society ! 

Carey  was,  of  course,  eager  to  go  to  the  field. 
His  preference  was  Tahiti,  in  the  Southern  Pacific, 
or  Western  Africa,  where  he  knew  the  needs  to  be 
great.  But  just  at  this  time  Dr.  Thomas,  a  Christian 
surgeon  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  East 
India  Company,  was  in  England  seeking  to  arouse 
interest  in  the  establishment  of  a  Mission  in  Bengal. 
He  was  communicated  with,  the  result  being  that 
Carey  decided  to  return  with  him  to  India.  As  the 
members  of  the  Missionary  Society  talked  it  over, 
they  likened  India  to  a  gold  mine,  but  who  would 
venture  to  explore  it?  "I  will  venture  to  go  down," 
said  Carey,  "  but  remember,  you  must  hold  the  ropes. " 

March  20,  1793,  was  the  day  Carey  parted  with 
his  church  at  Leicester.  It  was  with  great  reluctance 
that  the  people  let  him  go,  for  they  loved  him  as 
their  own  souls.  But  they  had  been  praying  for  the 
extension  of  God's  kingdom,  and  now  God  called 
upon  them  to  relinquish  their  minister  to  help  answer 
the  prayer. 

Difficulties. 

It  was  not  without  difficulties  that  Carey  set  out 
for  India.  His  wife  bitterly  opposed  his  going,  and 
at  first  refused  to  accompany  him.  His  father  also 
had  little  sympathy  with  his  desires.     The  captain 

77 


of  the  vessel  upon  which  passage  was  engaged,  at 
the  last  moment  refused  to  take  the  missionaries, 
and  so  departure  was  delayed,  until  finally  they 
embarked  upon  a  Danish  boat  bound  for  Calcutta. 
The  delay,  however,  gave  Carey  the  opportunity  of 
visiting  his  wife  once  more,  and  she  decided  at  last 
to  go  with  her  husband  if  her  sister  would  accompany 
them.  This  she  consented  to  do,  and  on  June  13, 
1793,  the  missionary  party  set  sail  from  Dover. 

After  a  voyage  of  five  months,  their  destination 
was  reached.  A  heart  less  stout  than  that  of  Carey 
would  doubtless  have  quailed  before  the  difficulties 
that  now  confronted  him.  Unable  at  first  to  secure 
a  permanent  location  in  or  near  Calcutta,  because 
of  opposition  by  the  East  India  Company,  he  was 
reduced  almost  to  starvation,  and,  in  addition,  his 
wife  and  two  of  his  children  were  seriously  ill.  But 
his  courage  did  not  fail.  He  wrote:  "Everything 
is  known  to  God,  and  God  cares  for  the  Mission. 
I  rejoice  that  He  is  all  sufficient,  and  can  supply  all 
my  wants  temporal  and  spiritual.  I  feel  peace  within, 
and  rejoice  in  having  undertaken  the  work." 

Life  in  Mudnabatty  and  Serampore. 
Having  stood  such  tests  of  faith,  relief  was  at  hand, 
and  God  was  about  to  open  a  way  for  sufficient 
support,  that  made  him  independent  even  of  the 
society  in  England.  He  secured  a  position  as  manager 
of  an  indigo  factory  at  Mudnabatty,  which  gave 
him  opportunity  to  come  in  close  contact  with  the 
workmen  and  to  preach.  He  remained  in  Mudna- 
batty five  years,  and  accomplished  much  for  the 
cause.  The  reports  he  sent  home  were  so  encouraging 
6  78 


that  additional  missionaries  were  sent  out  in  1799. 
Much  opposition  to  their  coming  was  displayed  by 
the  East  India  Company,  as  had  been  shown  in  the 
case  of  Carey.  They  were  not  permitted  to  join 
him,  but  were  invited  by  the  Governor  of  the  small 
Danish  settlement  at  Serampore,  fifteen  miles  above 
Calcutta,  to  settle  there. 

Among  the  new  missionaries  were  two  who  were 
destined  in  the  Providence  of  God,  to  be  united  with 
Carey  in  the  Serampore  Mission  for  many  years, 
Joshua  Marshman  and  William  Ward.  The  lattef 
was  a  printer,  and  had  come  from  Hull,  England. 
Before  Carey  left  for  the  field,  he  had  met  Ward, 
and  had  said  to  him  that  if  the  Mission  prospered, 
it  would  not  be  long  before  a  printer  would  be  needed 
to  print  the  Word  of  God.  As  Carey  proceeded 
with  his  translations,  the  need  for  Ward's  services 
became  more  and  more  urgent. 

After  consultation,  it  was  decided  that  Carey 
should  leave  Mudnabatty,  and  with  the  recently 
arrived  missionaries,  establish  a  new  Mission  at 
Serampore.  He  arrived  with  his  family  in  Jan- 
uary,  1800. 

Literary  Work. 
Meanwhile  he  had  made  such  good  progress  in 
his  study  of  the  Bengalee  language  that  he  began 
the  translation  of  portions  of  the  Scripture.  Thus 
commenced  his  literary  labors,  which  extended  over  a 
period  of  forty  years.  Before  he  died,  he  had  trans- 
lated the  Scriptures  wholly  or  in  part  into  thirty- 
four  languages  and  dialects.  He  has  been  fittingly 
called  the  Wy cliff e  of  the  East.    What  the  M  Morning 

79 


Star  of  the  Reformation"  did  for  English-speaking 
people,  Carey  did  for  the  people  of  India.  He  knew 
that  he  could  not  reach  the  millions  about  him  with 
his  own  voice,  and  so  he  considered  the  translation 
of  the  Bible  into  the  various  dialects  and  tongues 
of  the  natives  the  most  valuable  as  well  as  the  most 
necessary  thing  he  could  do.  God  manifestly  sent 
him  to  India  for  this  purpose;  took  him  from  the 
work-bench  at  Hackleton,  where  he  prayed  and 
planned  for  Missions,  to  make  him  the  herald  of  the 
everlasting  gospel  to  millions  of  his  fellow-men  in 
far-off  India. 

His  literary  work  was  not  confined  wholly  to 
Scripture  translation.  He  prepared  a  Bengalee 
dictionary  and  grammar,  and  also  grammars  of  the 
Sanscrit,  Mahratti,  and  several  other  languages. 
When  he  first  went  to  India,  he  collected  specimens 
of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  and  wrote  descriptions 
of  them  which  were  of  great  value. 

Educational  and  Philanthropic  Work. 
Although  the  name  of  Carey  will  ever  be  associated 
with  his  literary  labors,  we  must  not  forget  that  he 
accomplished  much  also  in  other  lines.  When  he 
first  went  to  India,  the  sacrifice  of  children  in  the 
Ganges  River  was  common,  as  also  the  practice  of 
suttee,  self-immolation  of  widows  on  the  funeral 
pyres  of  their  dead  husbands.  Carey  was  horrified 
at  these  things,  and  did  all  that  he  could  in  protest. 
Having  examined  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus, 
he  discovered  that  there  was  no  warrant  for  this 
sacrifice  of  children,  and  the  Viceroy  accordingly 
issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  it.     This  was  in 

80 


1801,  but  not  until  1825  was  suttee  abolished,  so 
firmly  established  was  the  custom.  Carey  had  the 
joy  of  translating  into  Bengalee  the  proclamation 
which  forbade  it. 

In  the  early  days  at  Mudnabatty,  Carey  put  into 
operation  three  lines  of  mission  work, — preaching  the 
gospel,  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  schools  for 
Christian  education.  All  of  these  he  considered 
essential  in  the  establishment  of  a  Mission.  As  time 
passed,  and  his  translations  appeared,  a  large  op- 
portunity for  usefulness  in  educational  work  came 
to  him.  He  was  offered  the  professorship  of  the 
Sanscrit,  Bengalee,  and  Mahratti  languages  in  Fort 
William  College  in  Calcutta.  This  he  accepted,  and 
filled  with  great  distinction.  He  also  became  the 
translator  for  the  government.  He  received  an  income 
of  about  $7,500  from  his  professorship,  all  of  which, 
with  the  exception  of  about  $200  for  the  necessaries 
of  life,  he  gave  to  the  Mission.  The  policy  of  Carey 
and  his  fellow-missionaries  at  Serampore  is  seen 
from  the  following  extract:  "Let  us  give  up  our- 
selves unreservedly  to  this  glorious  cause.  Let  us 
not  think  that  our  time,  our  gifts,  our  strength, 
our  families,  or  even  the  clothes  we  wear,  are  our 
own.  Let  us  forever  shut  out  the  idea  of  laying  up  a 
cowry  for  ourselves  or  our  children.  If  we  are  enabled 
to  glorify  God  with  our  bodies  and  spirit  which  are 
His,  our  wants  will  be  His  care. " 

Fort  William  College  was  a  government  institution. 
Carey  felt  the  need  for  an  institution  in  which  a 
native  ministry  might  be  trained.  Hence,  in  1818, 
he  founded  Serampore  College,  and  became  its 
President,    and    Professor    of    Theology.      He    also 

81 


lectured  frequently  on  Botany  and  Zoology.     This 
college  is  still  doing  a  noble  work. 

Closing  Days. 

Carey  was  a  prodigious  worker  and  a  man  of 
indomitable  perseverance,  or  else  he  never  could 
have  accomplished  what  he  did  in  the  enervating 
climate  of  India.  For  forty-one  years  he  labored, 
never  once  returning  to  England  for  a  rest.  It  was 
on  June  9,  1834,  that  he  passed  from  the  scenes 
of  his  earthly  labors,  and  great  was  the  sorrow  of 
his  associates  and  converts.  Robert  Hall,  who  was 
one  of  his  successors  in  the  church  at  Leicester  from 
which  Carey  went  as  a  missionary,  pays  him  this 
tribute:  "That  extraordinary  man  who,  from  the 
lowest  obscurity  and  poverty,  without  assistance, 
rose  by  dint  of  unrelenting  industry  to  the  highest 
honors  of  literature,  became  one  of  the  first  of  Oriental- 
ists, the  first  of  missionaries,  and  the  instrument  of 
diffusing  more  religious  knowledge  among  his  con- 
temporaries than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  individual 
since  the  Reformation:  a  man  who  unites  with  the 
most  profound  and  varied  attainments,  the  fervor 
of  an  evangelist,  the  piety  of  a  saint,  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  a  child." 

"Christian  England  laughed  when  Sydney  Smith 
sneered  at  William  Carey  as  a  'consecrated  cobbler,' 
going  on  a  fool's  errand  to  convert  the  heathen. 
Carey  died  aged  seventy  three  years.  He  was  visited 
on  his  death-bed  by  the  Bishop  of  India,  the  head 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  that  land,  who  bowed 
his  head  and  invoked  the  blessing  of  the  dying 
missionary.     The  British  authorities  had  denied  to 

82 


Carey  a  landing  place  on  his  first  arrival  in  Bengal; 
but  when  he  died,  the  government  dropped  all  its 
flags  to  half-mast  in  honor  of  a  man  who  had  done 
more  for  India  than  any  of  their  generals.  The 
universities  of  England,  Germany,  and  America 
paid  tribute  to  his  learning,  and  to-day  Protestant 
Christianity  honors  him  as  one  of  its  noblest  pioneers. " 

Questions. 

i.  For  what  is  Carey   particularly   famous  in  mis- 
sionary history? 

2.  Trace  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  India  before 

the  time  of  Carey. 

3.  In  what  ways  did  his  early  life  fit  him  to  become 

a  missionary? 

4.  How  did  he  show  his  interest  in  Missions  before 

becoming  a  missionary? 

5.  Tell    all   the    circumstances    about    the    founding 

of  England's  first  missionary  society. 

6.  What  do  you  consider  Carey's  greatest  work  for 

India,  and  why? 

7.  Why  is  he  called  the  Wy cliff e  of  the  East? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

" The  Life  of  William  Carey,"  George  Smith. 
"The  Life  of  William  Carey,"  J.   B.  Myers. 
"Men  of  Might  in  India  Missions,"  H.  H.  Holcomb. 
"Pioneer    Missionaries    of    the    Church,"    C.    C. 
Creegan. 


83 


STUDY  VIII. 

Hfconiram  3u&6on,  Evangelistic  THIlorft, 
1788*1850, 

jfitst  missionary  of  tbe  ffirst  missionary  Society  in 
Bmerica. 

"  Adoniram  Judson  is  surpassed  by  no  missionary  since 
the  apostle  Paul  in  self-devotion  and  scholarship,  in  labors 
and  perils,  in  saintliness  and  humility,  in  the  result  of  his 
toils  on  the  future  of  an  empire  and  its  multitudinous  peoples. 
He  took  possession  of  Burmah  for  Christ,  when  only  a  strip 
of  its  coasts  had  become  the  nucleus  of  the  eastern  half  of  the 
British  Empire  of  India,  and  he  inspired  his  native  country 
to  found  two  great  missionary  societies.  " 

First  English  and  American  Missionary  Societies. 

Just  eighteen  years  after  the  formation  of  the 
first  Missionary  Society  in  England,  there  was  founded 
in  1810  at  Bradford,  Mass.,  the  first  American  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.  Back  of  the  English  Society 
was  William  Carey,  whose  zeal  for  missions,  led 
twelve  village  ministers  at  Kettering  to  found  the 
Society.  Back  of  the  American  Society  were  the 
zeal  and  devotion  of  Adoniram  Judson  and  three 
of  his  fellow-students  of  Andover  Theological  Semi- 
nary, who  by  offering  their  services  for  work  abroad 
led  to  the  formation  by  nine  Congregational  minister? 

84 


of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions. 

Youth  and  Education. 
The  boyhood  of  Adoniram  Judson  was  very  in- 
teresting. He  was  born  at  Maiden,  Mass.,  on  August 
9,  1788,  and  when  he  was  still  very  young  his 
parents  noticed  that  he  was  unusually  bright.  When 
he  was  only  three  years  old,  he  surprised  his  father 
one  day  by  reading  to  him  a  whole  chapter  from 
the  Bible.  His  favorite  pastime  was  playing  church, 
at  which  times  he  was  always  the  minister.  He 
was  also  very  skilful  at  solving  puzzles  and  riddles. 
One  day  a  letter  containing  his  answer  to  a  puzzle 
happened  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  father,  who 
was  a  stern  old  Congregational  minister.  The  next 
morning  he  called  Adoniram,  and  gravely  informed 
him  that  he  had  purchased  for  him  a  book  of  riddles, 
a  very  common  one,  but  as  soon  as  he  had  solved 
all  that  it  contained,  he  should  have  other  books. 
Little  Adoniram  seized  upon  the  book  joyfully,  but 
was  surprised  to  find  that  it  was  an  arithmetic. 
"You  are  a  very  acute  boy,  Adoniram,"  said  his 
father,  patting  him  on  the  head,  "and  I  expect 
you  to  become  a  great  man."  He  was  educated 
at  Providence  College  (now  Brown  University),  and 
was  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 

Converted  and  Becomes  A  Missionary. 

While  in  college,  he  became  much  attached  to  a 

brilliant   young   man   who   was   an   avowed   infidel, 

and  it  was  not  long  until  young  Judson  professed 

as  great  unbelief  as  his  friend.     Soon  after  leaving 

85 


college,  he  chanced  to  be  stopping  at  a  country  inn, 
and  was  shown  to  a  room  next  to  that  of  a  young 
man  who  was  very  ill,  and  who,  he  was  told,  could 
not  live  through  the  night.  The  thought  of  a  young 
man  dying  so  near  to  him  preyed  upon  his  mind  all 
night,  and  he  kept  asking  himself,  as  he  heard  the 
groans  from  the  next  room,  "I  wonder  if  he  is  pre- 
pared!" In  the  morning,  he  asked  the  landlord 
how  the  sick  man  was.  "  He  is  dead, "  was  the  reply. 
"Dead!"  said  Judson,  "Do  you  know  who  he  was?" 
"  Oh,  yes,  he  was  a  fine  young  fellow  from  Providence 

College;  his   name   was ".     At   the   mention   of 

his  name,  Judson  was  completely  stunned,  for  he 
realized  that  it  was  his  infidel  friend.  He  immediately 
returned  home,  and  that  fall  entered  the  Theological 
Institution  at  Andover,  and  the  same  year  conse- 
crated himself  to  the  Christian  ministry.  Judson 
was  now  twenty  years  old.  The  following  year, 
1809,  he  became  greatly  interested  in  the  subject 
of  foreign  missions.  He  was  deeply  impressed  by 
reading  a  sermon  by  an  English  minister,  Dr.  Bucha- 
nan, on  Matthew  2:2,  "For  we  have  seen  His  star 
in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worship  Him;"  the 
theme  being,  "The  Evidences  of  the  Divine  Power 
of  Christianity  in  the  East,"  describing  its  influence 
particularly  in  India.  About  this  time  there  came 
to  Andover  four  of  the  five  young  men  who,  while 
at  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Mass.,  had  banded 
themselves  together  to  pray  for  foreign  missions. 
One  day,  because  of  a  thunder-storm,  they  were 
compelled  to  take  refuge  under  a  haystack  near  the 
college  grounds.  Here  they  held  their  prayer-meeting, 
and  Samuel  Mills,  their  leader,  after  speaking  of  the 

86 


great  need  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
exclaimed,  "We  can  do  it  if  we  will."  To-day  the 
historic  spot  is  marked  by  the  famous  Haystack 
Monument.  When  Judson  came  in  contact  with 
these  students  and  others  of  like  missionary  spirit, 
he  soon  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  become  a 
foreign  missionary .  Together  with  his  fellow-students , 
Samuel  Mills,  Samuel  Nott,  and  Samuel  Newell,  he 
made  request  of  the  Association  of  Congregational 
Ministers  of  Massachusetts  to  be  sent  abroad. 

In  due  time  it  was  decided  to  send  Judson  and 
his  associates  to  Asia.  On  February  5,  181 2,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Hasseltine,  a  beautiful 
and  vivacious  young  girl,  destined  to  prove  herself 
a  true  heroine  on  the  mission  field.  Two  weeks  after 
their  marriage,  together  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell, 
they  started  for  India. 

Becomes  A  Baptist. 
It  was  on  the  voyage  that  the  real  character  of 
Judson  was  displayed.  He  was  a  Congregationalist, 
he  was  being  sent  out  as  a  Congregational  missionary, 
and  was  supported  by  a  Congregational  Board. 
During  the  voyage,  however,  he  became  a  Baptist. 
As  he  began  to  plan  definitely  for  the  work  that  was 
before  him,  it  occurred  to  him  that,  in  founding  a 
new  Christian  society  among  the  heathen,  it  was 
very  important  that  the  converts  to  the  new  faith 
should  be  properly  baptized  when  received  into 
the  Christian  Church.  This  thought  led  him  to  make 
a  careful  study  of  the  subject  of  baptism.  In  the 
country  to  which  he  was  going,  there  were  already 
some  noted  Baptist  missionaries:    Carey,  Marshman, 

&7 


and  Ward;  and  he  wished  to  be  fully  prepared  to 
defend  his  anti- Baptist  views.  Investigation,  how- 
ever, led  him  to  the  belief  that  the  Baptist  position 
was  the  right  one,  and  that  he  and  the  other  Congre- 
gationalists  were  wrong.  The  consequences  of  such 
a  change  of  belief  startled  him.  He  would  either 
have  to  adhere  to  the  tenets  of  the  Congregational 
Church  on  this  important  subject,  which  now  he 
no  longer  believed,  or  he  would  have  to  break  with 
the  Missionary  Board  which  was  sending  him  out  as 
a  missionary,  and  from  which  he  expected  to  draw 
his  support.  It  was  in  this  struggle  that  the  real 
character  of  the  man  was  shown.  Could  he  be  untrue 
to  his  convictions?  Never!  Come  what  would,  he 
would  follow  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  After 
a  reluctant  but  fearless  struggle,  he  came  to  a  definite 
conclusion,  and  after  landing  at  Calcutta,  he  sent 
word  to  Carey,  Marshman,  and  Ward  of  his  desire 
to  be  immersed.  These  missionaries  most  gladly 
welcomed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson,  and  showed  them 
every  kindness  in  their  power.  Prompt  and  straight- 
forward obedience  to  Christ  was  the  keynote  of 
Judson's  whole  life. 

He  wrote  letters  to  America,  telling  of  his  changed 
views,  and  said  to  one  of  his  Baptist  friends,  "Should 
there  be  formed  a  Baptist  Society  for  the  support 
of  a  mission  in  these  parts,  I  should  be  ready  to 
consider  myself  their  missionary."  The  news  was 
a  call  to  the  Baptists  of  America  to  engage  in  foreign 
missionary  work,  and  they  responded  cordially. 
One  of  the  first  foreign  missionaries  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church,  Judson  now  became  the  first  mis- 
sionary of  the  American  Baptist  Church.     He  thus 

88 


had  a  share  in  the  formation  of  two  of  the  great 
American  Foreign  Missionary  Societies. 

Reaches  India. 

The  ending  of  the  voyage,  however,  was  but  the 
beginning  of  new  difficulties.  India  at  this  time  was 
largely  under  the  control  of  the  East  India  Company, 
which  was  opposed  to  the  coming  of  missionaries,  be- 
cause it  was  thought  that  the  introduction  of  a  new 
religion  would  stir  up  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
natives,  and  lead  to  complications  with  the  English 
Government.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were  there- 
upon ordered  to  leave  the  country,  and  to  go 
back  to  America.  They  were  allowed,  however, 
at  their  own  urgent  request,  to  go  to  the  Isle  of  France, 
where  they  remained  for  four  months  working  among 
the  English  soldiers.  They  then  decided  to  make 
another  effort  to  establish  themselves  on  the  Indian 
coast.  The  only  vessel  in  which  they  could  sail 
was  going  to  Rangoon,  Burmah,  and  they  dreaded 
to  pass  from  the  protection  of  the  English  flag  to  be 
under  the  absolute  control  of  the  Burman  despot. 
But  the  only  alternative  was  to  return  to  America, 
and  this  they  would  not  think  of  doing.  On  July 
13,  1 81 3,  they  landed  at  Rangoon,  and  took  pos- 
session of  a  little  English  Baptist  mission  house 
which  had  been  built  by  a  son  of  Dr.  Carey. 

Burmah  and  Buddhism. 

Burmah  is  the  largest  and  easternmost  province 
of  British  India.  When  Judson  began  his  work 
there,  however,  it  had  not  been  conquered  by  the 

89 


English,  and  was  ruled  by  a  despotic  king.  It  is 
about  iooo  miles  long,  30  to  40  miles  wide  in  the 
south,  and  550  miles  wide  in  the  north.  There  are 
three  principal  rivers  running  south,  and  parallel 
with  each  other, — The  Irrawaddy,  the  Sittang,  and 
the  Sal  win.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  Irrawaddy, 
at  whose  mouth  is  the  city  of  Rangoon.  The  southern 
part  of  the  country  is  very  low,  and,  in  the  rainy 
season,  which  lasts  from  July  through  September, 
is  completely  submerged  with  water  from  one  to 
twelve  feet  deep.  The  houses  are  built  on  piles, 
and  during  the  rainy  season,  everyone  goes  about 
in  boats.  The  inhabitants  of  Burmah  are  brown- 
skinned,  stout  and  well  proportioned,  and  have  long, 
straight  black  hair.  Their  religion  is  Buddhism. 
They  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and 
are  consequently  very  superstitious  about  killing 
animals,  or  even  the  smallest  insects.  The  worm 
upon  which  they  step  may  contain  the  soul  of  their 
nearest  and  dearest  deceased  friend.  Buddhism  also 
teaches  that  there  is  no  personal  God,  and  that  matter 
has  no  real  existence.  It  denies  the  existence  of 
the  soul,  and  asserts  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
blame  or  guilt.  The  one  fundamental  principle  is 
that  life  consists  of  misery  and  disappointment. 
The  highest  good  to  which  we  can  hope  to  attain, 
therefore,  is  utter  annihilation,  "Nirvana,"  or 
"Nigban, "  which  is  heaven,  and  it  means  annihila- 
tion. It  was  into  this  atmosphere  of  black  and 
awful  paganism  that  Adoniram  Judson  and  his  young 
wife  plunged  themselves.  What  a  privilege  to  carry 
the  light  and  glad  hope  of  the  gospel  to  such  a 
hopeless  people  ! 

90 


Early  Missionary  Labors. 

Although  Rangoon  was  not  the  place  where  Judson 
had  hoped  and  planned  to  locate,  for  it  seemed  to 
be  a  very  uninviting  spot,  yet  he  could  not  have 
chosen  a  more  strategic  point.  Situated  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Irrawaddy,  it  was  at  the  very  gateway  of  the 
empire.  Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  began  their 
great  work  of  "converting  Burmans."  Their  plan 
was  to  settle  down  quietly  in  the  country,  and  under- 
mine the  ancient  heathen  religion  by  winning  the 
hearts  of  individuals.  This  was  not  an  easy  task, 
for  no  system  of  truth  could  be  more  diametrically 
opposed  to  Buddhism  in  its  fundamental  principles, 
than  Christianity.  As  we  have  seen,  the  former 
teaches  that  there  is  no  God  to  save,  no  soul  to  be 
saved,  and  no  sin  to  be  saved  from;  while  these 
are  the  fundamental  teachings  of  the  latter. 

The  first  and  most  difficult  task  was  learning  the 
Burman  language.  He  had  no  grammar  or  dictionary, 
and  it  was  slow,  hard  work.  For  three  years  he 
struggled,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  had  completed 
a  small  grammar,  and  his  first  tract,  called  "  A  View 
of  the  Christian  Religion."  The  following  year, 
1 817,  he  completed  the  translation  of  the  Gospel 
of  Matthew,  and  a  few  days  later,  began  the  stupen- 
dous task  of  compiling  a  Burman  dictionary.  He 
did  not  undertake  to  preach  to  a  Burman  audience 
in  their  own  tongue,  however,  until  nearly  six  years 
after  coming  to  Rangoon. 

Evangelistic  Work. 
His  first  public  sermon  marks  an  era  in  the  history 
of  Burman  missions,  for  it  was  soon  followed  by  the 

9i 


first  of  a  series  of  conversions.  Six  years  of  faithful 
sowing  without  reaping  a  single  blade  of  grain  must 
have  been  discouraging  work,  but  Judson  was  a  man 
who  never  gave  up. 

But  now  that  the  Burmans  began  to  adopt  the 
new  faith,  the  heads  of  the  government  became 
alarmed,  and  the  clouds  of  persecution  began  to 
gather.  Judson  decided  to  strike  at  the  very  root 
of  the  matter,  go  to  Ava  the  capital,  and  see  the 
king  himself.  This  he  did,  but  the  king  would  not 
be  interested  in  the  new  religion,  and  Judson  was 
compelled  to  return  to  Rangoon.  Several  years 
later,  1822,  he  made  a  second  visit  to  the  capital, 
this  time  with  more  success.  He  was  kindly  received 
by  the  king,  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  he  decided 
to  plant  a  church  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Empire, 
under  the  shadow  of  the  throne. 

Imprisonment. 
In  1823  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  took  up  their  abode 
in  Ava.  The  outlook  was  very  encouraging.  They 
had  left  a  vigorous  little  church  of  eighteen  converted 
Burmans  at  Rangoon,  and  they  themselves  were 
distinctly  in  the  royal  favor.  But  in  a  very  short 
time  the  skies  became  black.  War  broke  out  between 
Burmah  and  the  English  Government  in  India, 
and  suspicion  at  once  fell  on  all  white  foreigners. 
Dr.  Judson  was  seized,  fettered,  and  thrown  into 
the  death  prison,  where  he  remained  for  eleven 
months.  The  horrors  of  this  place  are  beyond  de- 
scription. It  was  during  this  distressing  period  that 
Mrs.  Judson  (Ann  Hasseltine)  proved  herself  a 
heroine,    She  braved  all  dangers,  and  endured  every 

92 


hardship  in  her  untiring  efforts  to  relieve  her  husband's 
sufferings  and  to  secure  his  release.  At  the  end  of 
eleven  months,  the  prisoners  were  taken  to  Oung- 
Pen-La,  a  town  about  ten  miles  from  Ava,  and  here 
Dr.  Judson  remained  in  prison  for  six  months  longer. 
During  this  time  he  was  laid  low  by  the  fever  which 
prevailed  among  the  hundred  or  more  prisoners.  Daily 
his  noble  wife  visited  him  in  the  prison,  carrying 
food  and  clothing.  While  suffering  intensely  from 
the  fever,  constant  discomfort,  and  frequent  torture, 
the  horrors  of  the  place  were  increased  by  the  roaring 
of  a  lion,  confined  in  a  cage  near  by  the  prison,  and 
allowed  to  starve  to  death  because  of  the  hatred 
of  the  Burmans  for  the  British  emblem.  After  the 
lion's  death,  Mrs.  Judson  secured  the  use  of  the  cage 
for  her  husband,  that  he  might  have  fresh  air.  This 
proved  to  be  a  precious  boon,  as  compared  with  the 
stifling  room  where  he  had  been  confined  with  the 
other  prisoners.  In  the  midst  of  his  most  terrible 
sufferings  and  wretchedness,  the  thought  that  gave 
Judson  the  greatest  uneasiness  was  that  his  work 
was  at  a  standstill,  and  that  Mrs.  Judson  was  left 
unprotected  at  the  mercy  of  ruffians.  He  often 
used  to  comfort  himself  with  Madame  Guy  on 's 
lines: — 

"No  place  I  seek,  but  to  fulfill 
In  life  and  death  Thy  lovely  will; 
No  succor  in  my  woes  I  want, 
Except  what  Thou  art  pleased  to  grant. 
Our  days  are  numbered — let  us  spare 
Our  anxious  hearts  a  needless  care; 
!Tis  Thine  to  number  out  our  days, 
And  ours  to  give  them  to  Thy  praise." 

7  93 


Close  op  the  War  With  England. 

At  last  Judson  was  taken  out  of  prison,  and  sent 
by  the  Burman  king  to  negotiate  terms  of  peace 
with  the  English,  who  were  everywhere  victorious. 
When  the  final  terms  had  been  arranged,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Judson  were  allowed  to  leave  the  capital.  When  they 
arrived  at  Rangoon,  they  found  that  the  little  mis- 
sion had  been  broken  up,  and  the  converts  scattered. 
A  state  of  anarchy  followed  the  war,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  remain  in  Rangoon.  One  of  the  results 
of  the  war  was  that  the  English  had  wrested  from 
the  Burmans  a  large  part  of  their  sea-coast,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  establish  a  capital  for  the  new 
country.  Mr.  Judson  was  invited  to  accompany 
the  English  commissioners  on  an  expedition  to  ascer- 
tain the  best  location  for  the  new  town.  This  he 
did,  and  a  spot  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sal  win  was 
selected.  The  new  town  was  called  Amherst,  and 
here  the  Judsons  opened  a  new  mission  in   1826. 

Before  operations  were  fairly  begun,  however, 
Mr.  Judson  was  compelled  to  re-visit  Ava  for  the 
purpose  of  negotiating  a  commercial  treaty.  This 
proved  a  most  unfortunate  step,  for  while  he  was 
absent  his  faithful  wife,  whose  health  had  been 
broken  by  the  hardships  which  she  had  previously 
undergone  at  Ava,  died.  The  mission  at  Amherst 
soon  broke  up,  for  the  commander  of  the  English 
army  did  not  make  it  his  headquarters,  as  had 
been  expected,  but  chose  Maulmain,  a  town  about 
twenty-five  miles  farther  north.  The  result  was 
that  Amherst  was  rapidly  eclipsed  by  the  latter 
town,  and  it  was  decided  to  move  the  mission  to 
Maulmain. 

94 


Spiritual  Results. 
Accordingly,  in  1827,  this  throbbing  center  of 
Burman  life  became  the  center  likewise  of  Christian 
influence.  Fruits  of  Mr.  Judson's  labors  now  began 
to  be  manifest.  He  had  been  strongly  reinforced 
with  other  missionaries  from  America,  and  the 
campaign  of  spiritual  conquest  which  followed 
was  a  most  vigorous  and  successful  one.  By  the  end 
of  1832,  five  hundred  and  sixteen  Burmans  had  ' 
accepted  Christianity.  But  now  that  the  work 
was  on  a  solid  foundation,  Judson's  restless,  aggressive 
spirit  would  not  let  him  rest.  He  was  not  satisfied 
with  founding  two  or  three  missions  on  the  outer- 
most edge  of  British  Burmah;  he  longed  to  strike 
into  the  interior.  The  work  at  Rangoon  had  been 
revived  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  native  convert, 
whose  efforts  were  being  crowned  with  encouraging 
success.  A  flourishing  mission  had  been  planted  at 
Tavoy  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boardman,  two  of  Judson's 
associates  at  Maulmain,  and  the  light  of  the  gospel 
was  beginning  to  penetrate  the  darkness  in  all 
directions.  Judson,  like  the  Apostle  Paul,  was  the 
guiding  spirit  of  the  various  centers  of  Christian 
activity,  and  he  labored  on  with  a  never  failing 
zeal.  He  made  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  plant  a 
mission  at  Prome,  a  city  on  the  Irrawaddy,  half 
way  between  Rangoon  and  Ava.  Again  and  again 
he  threw  himself  against  the  bulwarks  of  Budd- 
hism and  Burman  bigotry  within  the  borders  of 
the  despot,  and  again  and  again  he  was  repulsed. 
To-day  a  beautiful  church  stands  in  the  very 
capital  of  the  Empire  as  a  memorial  to  his  untiring 
zeal. 

95 


Visit  to  America  and  Last  Days. 

By  the  year  1845,  Mr.  Judson  was  very  much 
broken  in  health,  and  decided  to  return  to  America. 
His  visit  was  accompanied  by  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 
and  he  was  honored  everywhere  as  a  true  hero  of 
the  Cross.  On  returning  to  Maulmain,  he  found 
the  mission  in  such  a  nourishing  condition  that  he 
felt  free  to  take  up  the  work  again  in  Rangoon. 
His  last  years  were  an  uphill  struggle  against  the 
intolerance  and  oppression  of  the  Burman  Govern- 
ment, and  he  was  much  hampered  by  the  lack  of 
support  from  the  Mission  Board  in  America.  He  died, 
and  was  buried  at  sea  on  April  12,  1850,  while  at- 
tempting to  regain  by  a  sea  voyage  his  fast  failing 
health. 

In  the  Baptist  meeting-house  in  Maiden,  Massa- 
chusetts, is  a  marble  tablet,  on  which  is  inscribed: 

Un  fnlemortam. 

Rev.  Adoniram  Judson 

Born  Aug.  9,  1788 

Died  April  12,  1850 

Maiden,  his  birthplace 

The  ocean,  his  sepulchre, 

Converted  Burmans,  and 

The  Burman  Bible 

His  monument. 

His  record  is  on  high. 

Questions. 

1.  What  kind  of  a  boy  was  Adoniram  Judson,  and 

when  and  where  was  he  born? 

2.  What  was  the  means  of  his  conversion? 

96 


3-  How  did  he  happen  to  become  a  Baptist?    What 
was  the  keynote  of  his  life? 

4.  What  difficulties  did  he  encounter  in  getting  a 

foothold  in  India? 

5.  Describe  Burmah. 

6.  What    are    the    principal    beliefs    of    Buddhism? 

7.  Give  an  account  of  his  work  at  Rangoon. 

8.  What  misfortune  did  he  suffer  at  Ava  and  Oung- 

Pen-La? 

9.  Give  an  account  of  his  work  at  Maulmain. 

Books  for  the  Library. 

"The  Life  of  Adoniram  Judson,  "  by  his  son, 
Edward  Judson. 

"Notable  Baptists — Adoniram  Judson,"  by  his 
son,  Edward  Judson. 


97 


STUDY  IX. 

3obn  Scuttoer,  IKLB.,  fnieMcal  Worft, 
1793*1855, 

3fit0t  amertcan  fBle&ical  missionary  to  Hn&ta. 

"He  walked  constantly  with  Jesus,  and  spake  unto  the  Lord 
his  Master  by  night  and  by  day  as  he  had  opportunity.  He 
told  me  that  he  wished  to  be  one  of  the  inner  circle  around  Jesus 
in  heaven.  That  was  his  ambition,  and  he  lived  near  here, 
that  he  might  also  be  near  there." — Henry  M.  Scudder. 

When  asked  in  America  what  were  the  discouragements  in 
the  missionary  work,  Dr.  John  Scudder  answered,  ''I  do  not 
know  the  word.     I  long  ago  erased  it  from  my  vocabulary.' I 

"Make  him  a  Christian,  and  make  him  a  missionary." — 
— Daily  Prayer  of  Dr.  Scudder  for  his  son. 

Value  of  the  Medical  Missionary. 
One  of  the  earliest  medical  missionaries  was  Luke, 
the  writer  of  the  Gospel  which  bears  his  name,  and 
called  "the  beloved  physician."  There  is  evidence 
in  the  book  of  Acts  that  he  accompanied  Paul  during 
a  part  of  the  latter's  second  and  third  missionary 
journeys.  To  this  day,  some  of  the  most  useful 
missionaries  of  the  Cross  have  been  those  who  have 
combined  relief  for  the  body  with  help  for  the  soul. 
Dr.  John  Scudder  was  such  an  one.  "  His  skill  as  a 
surgeon  was  the  key  in  many  instances  to  his  success 
as  a  preacher.     A  man  who  could  open  the  eyes  of 

9S 


the  blind  inspired  a  reverence  far  greater  than  one 
who  appeared  simply  as  a  Christian  teacher.  His 
two-fold  profession  gave  him  great  power. " 

Birth  and  Early  Life. 

The  very  year  that  William  Carey  set  sail  for  the 
foreign  field,  1793,  there  was  born  in  Freehold,  New 
Jersey ,  on  September  3 ,  the  boy  who  was  to  become 
the  first  American  medical  missionary  to  India. 
John  Scudder's  father  was  a  lawyer  of  repute,  and 
his  mother  a  woman  of  refinement  and  culture. 
From  his  boyhood,  his  mother  says  "he  was  always 
good,"  and  showed  qualities  which  were  character- 
istic of  the  future  man;  benevolence  (so  generous 
was  he  that  he  would  go  out  and  gather  wood  for  the 
poor  families  in  the  neighborhood),  self-sacrifice, 
and  a  perseverance  which  took  no  account  of  ob- 
stacles. He  had  also  a  bright,  happy  disposition, 
genial  manner,  and  thus  easily  won  friends. 

While  at  Princeton,  he  was  known  not  only  as  a 
hard  student,  but  as  an  earnest  Christian,  and  exerted 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  over  his  classmates. 
More  than  one  gave  his  life  to  Christ  as  a  result  of 
his  direct,  personal  interest.  In  obedience  to  his 
father's  desire,  he  gave  up  the  ministry,  and  chose 
the  medical  profession  as  his  life-work,  feeling  that 
it  furnished  opportunities  for  doing  good  to  the 
soul  as  well  as  to  the  body.  He  accordingly  entered 
the  New  York  Medical  College,  and  in  181 5  was 
graduated  with  honors. 

God's  Providence. 
If  he  was  not  now  to  enter  the  ministry,  God's 

99 


hand  was  certainly  leading  him  in  all  his  decisions, 
and  preparing  him  for  the  coming  years  in  India. 
In  settling  in  the  East  Side  of  New  York  to  practise, 
he  lived  with  a  family  of  culture,  but  none  of  them 
were  Christians.  Through  his  earnest  efforts  and 
godly  life  in  their  home,  all  of  them  were  led  to  Christ, 
and  later  Dr.  Scudder  married  one  of  the  daughters. 
Success  such  as  he  won  seldom  comes  quickly  to  a 
young  physician  in  a  large  city.  But  his  faithful 
and  intelligent  care  of  his  patients,  as  well  as  his 
bright,  cheery  manner,  won  hosts  of  friends  and 
a  large  practice.  But  in  the  very  midst  of  his  fame 
and  increasing  financial  prosperity  came  the  call 
to  leave  all  and  go  to  heathen  lands. 

It  is  interesting  to  think  of  the  way  God  speaks 
to  us,  so  many  and  various  are  His  methods.  To 
Dr.  Scudder,  the  call  came  through  a  pamphlet 
entitled,  "The  Conversion  of  the  World;  or,  The 
Claims  of  Six  Hundred  Millions,"  picked  up  care- 
lessly while  waiting  to  see  a  patient.  He  borrowed 
the  book,  and  read  it  several  times.  It  echoed  the 
cry,  "Come  over  and  help  us,"  and  until  he  had 
answered,  "I  will,"  there  was  no  peace  in  his  heart. 
Friends  and  patients  alike  tried  to  dissuade  him  from 
going.  His  father  threatened  to  disinherit  him. 
The  size  of  his  practice  was  urged;  its  claims  on  him; 
the  good  he  was  doing  in  his  church  relationship 
here;  and  the  more  worldly  argued  the  utter  folly 
of  giving  up  all  his  prospects  of  fame  and  fortune 
for  the  bodily  discomforts  and  certain  poverty  of  a 
missionary's  life.  But  he  and  his  wife  had  counted 
the  cost,  and  were  willing  to  lose  all  that  they  might 
win  souls  for  Christ. 

ioo 


Sets  Out  for  India. 

At  just  this  time,  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  of  Boston  was  looking 
for  a  Christian  physician  to  accompany  a  party  of 
missionaries  to  India.  Dr.  Scudder  offered  himself, 
and  was  accepted.  Then  began  preparations  for  a 
trip  from  which  they  never  expected  to  return. 
One  of  his  faithful  Negro  servants,  Amy,  could  not 
bear  to  be  parted  from  her  mistress,  nor  from  her 
little  two-year-old  charge,  Maria.  When  told  of  the 
trials  and  perils  before  her,  she  answered,  "If  little 
Maria  can  meet  them,  I  can,"  and  the  "faithful 
Amy,"  as  she  was  called,  became  a  member  of  the 
missionary  band. 

Those  who  saw  the  party  leave  the  old  Fulton 
Street  Dock,  never  forgot  the  sight.  Dr.  Scudder 
was  buoyant  at  the  prospect  of  becoming  Christ's 
ambassador  to  the  heathen.  His  last  words  were, 
"Only  give  me  your  prayers,  and  that  is  all  I  ask." 
Such  an  example  of  consecration  could  not  be  without 
its  effect  on  a  wide  circle,  and  at  least  one  young 
man,  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  decided  to  leave  his 
mercantile  business,  and  follow  the  noble  example 
thus  set  before  him.  Dr.  Scudder  and  his  family 
having  joined  the  other  missionaries  in  Boston,  it 
was  on  June  8,  1819,  that  all  set  sail  in  the  good  ship 
"  India. "  The  four  months  that  they  were  on  board, 
the  missionaries  devoted  to  personal  effort  among 
the  crew.  A  wonderful  revival  took  place,  and  must 
have  encouraged  them  for  the  work  that  lay  before 
them  in  India. 

Calcutta  was  reached  in  October.  Soon  after  the 
vessel  anchored,  they  had  a  glimpse  of  the  city's 

101 


great  extent.  On  the  shore  directly  opposite,  a 
great  multitude  of  natives  carrying  their  gods,  were 
approaching  the  water  to  throw  them  into  the  stream. 
They  held  them  over  the  water  some  minutes,  while 
the  noise  of  various  musical  instruments  continued, 
and  then  plunged  them  in  to  float  down  the  current. 
For  the  first  time,  the  missionaries  had  seen  the 
important  Hindu  ceremony  of  the  drowning  of  the 
gods. 

The  place  to  which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Scudder  were 
assigned  was  Jaffna,  in  Ceylon,  an  island  directly 
south  of  the  mainland  of  India.  Before  leaving 
Calcutta,  however,  they  were  greatly  grieved  by 
the  death  of  little  Maria.  Her  death  was  followed 
by  that  of  a  baby  sister  four  months  later.  In 
writing  of  it,  he  says:  "We  must  say  that  our  trials 
have  been  heartrending.  Oh,  that  God  would  sanctify 
them  to  us  !  You  may  rest  assured  that  we  do  not 
repent  of  our  coming.  No,  we  rejoice  and  thank 
God  for  putting  it  into  our  hearts  to  leave  America, 
and  come  and  live  among  this  people.  I  would  not 
exchange  situations  for  a  world." 

Missionary  Labors  in  Ceylon. 
The  island  of  Ceylon  where  Dr.  Scudder  was  the 
only  medical  missionary,  contains  about  24,664  square 
miles,  and  in  1831  had  a  population  of  a  million. 
Tamil  was  the  language  of  the  Brahmans,  and  Hindus 
of  the  northern  section,  and  before  Dr.  Scudder, 
now  an  ordained  minister,  could  preach  to  them,  he 
had  to  master  it.  But  he  was  not  idle  in  the  mean- 
time. The  news  of  his  skill  as  a  surgeon  soon  spread, 
and  thousands  flocked  to  his  bungalow  for  aid,  and 

102 


none  went  away  without  a  word  about  the  Great 
Physician.  If  the  native  could  read,  he  was  given  a 
written  pamphlet.  As  thousands  of  these  were  given 
away,  the  labor  of  preparing  them  must  have  been 
great.  While  Dr.  Scudder  was  busy  in  the  hospital 
or  preaching,  Mrs.  Scudder  was  conducting  a  school. 
"She  provided  for  the  children  (he  writes  in  a  letter 
to  his  mother),  and  takes  care  of  almost  the  whole 
of  the  domestic  concerns,  which  are  neither  few  nor 
small.  She  has  ten  females  under  her  care.  These 
she  teaches  to  sew  in  the  afternoons.  In  the  morning 
she  begins  to  hear  the  boys  recite  in  English,  which 
is  no  small  labor.  She  hears  three  different  classes. 
She  sometimes  visits  the  people." 

Begins  Itinerating. 

As  time  passed  by,  Dr.  Scudder  felt,  if  the  natives 
were  ever  to  be  reached,  he  could  not  wait  for  them 
to  come  to  him,  but  he  must  go  to  their  villages. 
He  was  continually  going  from  one  place  to  another. 
The  population  was  so  great,  the  same  places  and 
people  could  not  be  visited  twice,  so  he  left  tracts 
and  Bibles.  Stop  and  tfynk  just  a  minute  what 
your  condition  would  be  if  you  had  heard  only  ONCE 
of  Jesus,  and  would  never  hear  again. 

Once  while  on  one  of  these  trips,  far  from  home, 
he  was  taken  very  ill.  Word  was  sent  to  his  wife, 
and  she  made  up  her  mind  to  go  to  him  at  once. 
She  meant  to  travel  by  night  as  well  as  by  day, 
though  it  was  very  dangerous  to  do  so  on  account 
of  the  wild  animals.  As  night  came  on,  the  roars 
of  tigers  and  the  trumpetings  of  elephants  could  be 
heard  in  the  distance,  and  then  nearer  and  nearer. 

103 


Every  one  of  the  carriers  who  had  come  with  Mrs. 
Scudder  ran  off  in  a  great  fright,  and  left  her  alone 
with  her  little  boy  in  the  jungle.  What  could  she 
do  to  defend  herself  against  the  wild  beasts?  Prayer 
to  the  God  who  had  saved  Daniel  from  the  lions 
was  her  only  refuge.  Earnestly  did  she  ask  for  pro- 
tection, and  was  not  denied.  Though  she  could  hear 
the  tigers  as  they  drew  near,  and  could  see  the  gleam 
in  their  savage  eyes,  yet  not  one  of  them  did  her 
harm.  In  the  morning,  the  cowardly  carriers  returned 
and  the  journey  was  resumed. 

So  hard  did  Dr.  Scudder  work  that  even  his  wonder- 
ful constitution  was  undermined,  and  after  nine 
years'  labor,  he  was  ordered  to  take  a  rest  in  Madras, 
and  in  Bengalose  in  southern  India.  This  led  later 
to  the  founding  of  a  mission  at  Madras,  in  the  very 
centre  of  heathenism.  A  few  years  later,  in  1836, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Scudder  were  appointed  to  this  station. 

Labors  in  Madras. 
Here  the  open  opposition  was  much  greater  than 
in  Ceylon.  He  was  stoned  and  persecuted,  but  still 
he  continued  preaching  early  and  late,  and  healing 
the  sick.  One  day  he  performed  fifteen  surgical 
operations,  seven  being  for  cataract.  Thus  in  a 
physical  as  truly  as  in  a  spiritual  way  was  he  giving 
sight  to  the  blind.  So  indefatigable  was  he  in  his 
efforts  to  preach,  that  most  of  the  large  towns  in 
that  part  of  India  heard  of  salvation  through  him. 
While  on  one  of  these  journeys,  he  '"stood  eleven 
consecutive  hours,  without  moving  from  his  post. 
He  did  not  even  stop  to  eat,  but  had  coffee  brought 
to  him." 

104 


Furlough — Influence  With  Children. 
The  heat  of  the  country  and  his  unsparing  labors 
began  to  tell  on  him.  Nothing  but  a  long  rest  could 
save  him  for  future  work,  and  in  1841,  after  an 
absence  of  twenty-two  years,  he  was  induced  to  take 
a  furlough  in  America.  During  all  the  years  of  his 
residence  in  India,  his  father  had  never  forgiven  him 
for  going  abroad.  Letters  sent  home,  had  been  burned 
unopened,  or  after  a  period  of  years  given  to  the 
anxious  mother.  Dr.  Scudder's  return  was  there- 
fore unknown  to  his  father,  but  when  he  came  back 
to  the  old  home,  and  stood  in  his  father's  presence, 
the  stern  old  man  relented,  and  became  reconciled 
to  his  son.  While  here  he  could  not  be  silent.  "If 
he  could  not  preach  to  the  heathen,  he  must  preach 
about  them. "  All  over  the  country  he  went,  arousing 
interest  in  missions,  especially  in  his  beloved  India. 
Children  everywhere  flocked  to  hear  him,  for  they 
were  especially  attracted  by  his  fascinating  stories 
of  the  need  in  far-off  lands. 

Back  in  India — Closing  Days. 
But  he  was  not  content  until  he  was  at  work  in 
Madras  again.  In  1849,  ne  was  joined  by  two  of  his 
sons  who,  after  their  preparation  in  America,  returned 
as  missionaries.  That  same  year  his  wife  died,  and 
also  a  son  at  college.  He  never  seemed  to  recover 
from  these  shocks.  His  health  steadily  failed,  and 
another  trip  to  America  was  proposed.  But  a  voyage 
to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  instead  seemed  to  benefit 
him,  so  that  while  in  Capetown  he  was  preaching 
and  constantly  working.  He  was  to  conduct  an 
evening  service  and,  tired  from  the  morning's  exer- 

105 


tions,  lay  down  to  gain  strength  for  it,  when  he  fell 
asleep  to  wake  in  heaven. 

A  Remarkable  Family. 

No  one  can  sum  up  the  blessings  of  such  a  life. 
Wherever  he  went,  at  Princeton,  in  the  Medical 
School,  visiting  his  patients  in  New  York,  no  less 
than  in  Ceylon,  and  Madras,  his  life  had  one  purpose, 
one  aim, — to  bring  men  to  Christ.  Nor  can  a  life 
influence  such  as  his  ever  end.  Medical  students 
trained  by  him  are  carrying  on  his  work  in  India. 
Nine  of  his  children  and  twelve  grandchildren  became 
missionaries.  They  and  their  wives  have  given  almost 
six  hundred  years  of  service  to  missions.  What 
have  you  given? 

Questions. 

i.  What  argument,  based  on  the  ministry  of  Jesus, 
can  you  advance  in  support  of  medical  mis- 
sions ? 

2.  Mention  three  advantages  of  medical  work,  and 

point  out  also  its  limitations. 

3.  Mention  at  least  three  instances  in  which  God's 

providence  was  clearly  marked  in  Dr.  Scudder's 
life. 

4.  What  impresses  you  most  about  Dr.   Scudder's 

character  or  work,  and  why? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

Creegan — "Pioneer  Missionaries  of  the  Church," 
Chap.  XIII. 

Holcomb — "Men  of  Might  in  India  Missions." 

106 


STUDY  X. 

Hlexan&er  Duff,  E&ucational  Work, 

1806*1878- 

ff iret  missionary  of  tbe  BstablfsbeD  Cbutcb  of  Scotland 

"O  Lord,  for  the  sake  of  promoting  Thy  glory  among  the 
heathen,  I  am  ready  to  go  to  the  parched  desert  or  the  howling 
wilderness,  to  live  on  its  bitter  herbs  and  at  the  mercy  of  its 
savage  inhabitants.  Lord,  strengthen  the  weakness  of  my  faith 
that  I  may  be  powerful  in  the  accomplishing  of  Thy  will." 

— Alexander  Duff. 

"Devoted  lives  are  a  more  powerful  preaching  than  burning 
words. " — Motto  given  by  Duff  to  students  at  Madras  in  1849. 

"No  man  since  Paul  has  done  more  to  kindle  and  keep  alive 
the  fires  of  world-wide  missions." — Arthur  T.  Pierson,  D.D. 

"He  was  afraid  of  no  truth,  but  sanctified  all  truth.'l 

— George   Smith. 

Early  Days. 
Shortly  before  the  death  of  William  Carey,  there 
visited  him  in  his  home  at  Serampore  the  young 
Scotch  missionary,  Alexander  Duff.  It  was  a  meeting 
which  the  latter  never  forgot.  As  he  rose  to  go, 
Carey  called  him  back  and  said  to  him,  "Mr.  Duff, 
you  have  been  speaking  of  Dr.  Carey,  Dr.  Carey. 
When  I  am  gone,  say  nothing  about  Dr.  Carey; 
speak  about  Dr.  Carey's  Saviour."  To  tell  of  the 
Saviour  was  what  had  indeed  brought  Duff  to  India; 

107 


otherwise,  he  would  never  have  gone,  and  he  followed 
strictly  the  elder  missionary's  advice. 

In  the  rugged  hills  of  Scotland,  Alexander  Duff  was 
born  April  25,  1806,  near  the  village  of  Moulin.  His 
parents  had  been  converted  in  their  youth  under  the 
preaching  of  Charles  Simeon,  and  they  were  staunch 
and  loyal  Christians.  Their  home  was  the  scene 
of  many  a  prayer-meeting,  and  Duff  grew  up  in  a 
wholesome  Christian  atmosphere.  He  was  influenced 
in  his  early  years  by  three  persons  chiefly, — his  father, 
for  whom  he  had  a  deep  love  and  respect,  and  who 
molded  his  spiritual  life;  his  schoolmaster,  Mr. 
Macdougall,  who  laid  the  foundations  of  his  broad 
culture;  and  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  at  St.  Andrew's 
University,  by  his  missionary  spirit  and  appeals, 
quickened  Duff's  interest  in  the  great  cause  of  mis- 
sions. I  say  quickened,  because  Duff's  interest  had 
been  first  aroused  in  the  family  circle  at  home,  when 
his  father  would  tell  him  stories  of  the  idolatry  in 
far-away  India,  perhaps  little  thinking  that  his  own 
boy  would  some  day  go  to  this  very  land  to  battle 
against  its  heathenism. 

When  eight  years  old,  he  went  away  to  school, 
and  soon  after  leaving  home  he  had  a  dream  in  which 
he  saw  the  human  race  stand  before  God  for  judg- 
ment. He  saw  some  condemned  and  others  com- 
mended. As  his  own  turn  approached,  doubtful 
what  the  result  might  be,  he  awoke  with  a  start. 
The  dream  had  made  such  an  impression  that  he 
prayed  earnestly  for  pardon,  and  his  conversion 
dates  from  this  time.  A  little  later,  he  had  another 
dream  in  which  God  seemed  to  draw  near  to  him  in 
a  golden  chariot  drawn  by  fiery  horses.    As  he  looked 

108 


on  in  wonder,  he  heard  God's  voice  in  kind  and 
gentle  tones  saying,  "Come  up  hither,  I  have  work 
for  thee  to  do." 

Student  Life. 
At  school,  Duff  easily  led  his  class,  and  at  fifteen 
entered  St.  Andrew's  University,  where  he  made  a 
brilliant  record.  He  was  the  pride  of  the  University, 
not  only  for  his  scholarship,  but  for  his  genial  good 
nature.  Together  with  his  devoted  friend,  John 
Urquhart,  and  others,  he  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  "The  Students'  Missionary  Society. "  Its  members 
had  the  privilege  of  personal  contact  with  some  of 
the  great  missionaries  who  came  home  to  tell  what 
had  been  done  in  foreign  lands,  and  who  were  seeking 
new  recruits.  Among  them  were  Joshua  Marshman, 
one  of  Carey's  associates  in  India,  and  Robert 
Morrison,  fresh  from  his  work  in  China,  who  so  im- 
pressed Urquhart  that  he  decided  to  become  a 
foreign  missionary. 

Missionary  Decision. 

The  field  Urquhart  chose  was  India,  but  in  1828 
he  died.  Duff  resolved  to  give  his  life  to  missions 
in  his  friend's  place.  On  a  visit  home,  his  father 
inquired  for  Urquhart.  "He  is  no  more,"  said  Duff. 
"What  if  your  son  should  take  up  his  cloak?  You 
approved  the  motive  that  directed  the  choice  of 
Urquhart;  you  commended  his  high  purpose — the 
cloak  is  taken  up."  Thus  Duff  announced  to  his 
parents  his  decision  to  become  a  missionary. 

Soon  after  this  decision,  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
in  response  to  an  appeal  from  India,  resolved  to 
8  109 


establish  a  college  for  high-caste  Hindus  near  Calcutta. 
Duff  was  urged  to  undertake  this  work.  At  first 
he  refused,  because  he  felt  unequal  to  so  great  a 
responsibility ;  but  later,  convinced  that  it  was  God's 
call,  he  gladly  accepted.  He  preached  his  first  sermon 
in  St.  Giles'  Cathedral,  Edinburgh,  the  text  proving 
to  be  the  motto  of  his  whole  life:  "  For  I  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ, 
and  him  crucified."  i  Corinthians  2:2. 

On  August  12,  1829,  when  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  he  was  ordained  to  be  the  first  foreign  mission- 
ary of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland.  He 
visited  many  churches,  arousing  intense  interest  in 
missions.  In  one  address  based  on  Romans  1  :  14, 
"I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks,  and  to  the  Bar- 
barians," he  said  :  "There  was  a  time  when  I  had 
no  care  or  concern  for  the  heathen;  that  was  a  time 
when  I  had  no  care  or  concern  for  my  own  soul. 
When,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  was  led  to  care  for  my 
own  soul,  then  it  was  I  began  to  care  for  the  heathen 
abroad.  In  my  closet  on  my  bended  knees,  I  then 
said  to  God :  '  O  Lord,  Thou  knowest  that  silver 
and  gold  to  give  to  this  cause,  I  have  none;  what 
I  have,  I  give  unto  Thee — I  offer  Thee  myself.  Wilt 
Thou  accept  the  gift?" 

Voyage  to  India. 
Just  before  his  ordination,  Duff  was  married  to 
Miss  Drysdale  of  Edinburgh.  On  October  14, 
1829,  they  set  sail  for  Calcutta.  There  was  no  short 
route  through  the  Suez  Canal  in  those  days,  and 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  the  only  way, 
and  full  of  danger.    The  vessel  was  wrecked  off  the 

no 


south  coast  of  Africa,  but  her  passengers,  after  trying 
experiences,  all  reached  Capetown  safely.  All  of 
Duff's  valuable  library  was  lost  except  his  Bible 
and  Psalter.  A  sailor  found  these  on  the  shore,  and 
brought  them  to  Duff,  who  read  to  his  shipwrecked 
companions  Psalm  107.  After  a  delay  of  several 
weeks,  Mr.  and  Mrs  Duff  set  sail  again  for  India. 
Again  they  met  severe  storms;  were  blown  out  of 
their  course,  and  anchored  at  last  in  the  Ganges, 
only  to  be  wrecked  a  second  time  by  the  violence 
of  a  monsoon.  Their  only  place  of  refuge  was  a 
Hindu  temple  Soon  after,  they  reached  Calcutta, 
eight  months  having  elapsed  since  they  set  sail  from 
home. 

Work  in  Calcutta — 1830-1835. 
Founding  of  the  College. 

Although  Duff  had  been  charged  by  the  missionary 
society  at  home  to  found  the  college  outside  the 
city  of  Calcutta,  yet  it  became  very  evident  to  him 
that  the  need  was  in  the  heart  of  the  city  itself, 
where  the  young  Hindus  who  had  renounced  their 
faith,  and  had  accepted  no  religion  in  its  stead,  could 
be  reached.  The  aged  William  Carey  thoroughly 
agreed  with  Duff,  so  he  went  ahead,  and  with  the 
help  of  a  noble  young  Brahman,  Rammohun  Roy, 
who  secured  a  building  and  gathered  some  scholars 
for  him,  he  opened  a  Christian  English  school  right 
in  Calcutta.  Duff  declared  the  English  language 
to  be  "  the  lever  which,  as  the  instrument  of  conveying 
the  entire  range  of  knowledge,  is  destined  to  move 
all  Hindustan. "  Five  boys  came  to  the  first  session 
of  the  school,   which  opened,   after  a  protest  had 

in 


been  silenced,  with  Scripture  reading  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer  in  the  Bengalee  language.  Numbers  increased 
rapidly,  and  the  boys  soon  learned  to  love  their 
Bible  lesson  as  well  as  their  other  lessons.  The  one 
assistant  was  reinforced  at  the  end  of  the  first  year 
by  two  other  helpers. 

Lectures. 

A  group  of  young  Hindus  who  published  a  paper 
denouncing  Brahman  teaching,  attracted  much  at- 
tention at  this  time.  Duff's  offer  to  give  a  course 
of  lectures  for  their  benefit  was  accepted,  and  fifty 
or  sixty  men  came  each  week.  Many  under  this 
teaching  became  Christians,  among  them,  the  editor 
of  the  paper  and  leader  of  the  band:  Krishna  Ban- 
nerjea,  a  high-caste  Hindu  who  became  a  noted 
Christian  teacher  and  author.  Duff  was  also  in- 
fluential in  establishing  a  medical  college,  and  was 
associated  with  Macaulay  and  Trevelyan  in  their 
splendid  and  successful  efforts  to  have  English  made 
the  language  of  schools  and  colleges  under  British 
control. 

A  Pastor. 

When  the  church  of  St.  Andrew's  in  Calcutta  was 
left  without  a  minister,  Duff  became  its  pastor  for 
a  time,  building  up  a  large  and  active  church. 

Work  in  Scotland,  1835-1839. 

After  five  years  of  incessant  labor,  his  health  broke 
down  completely,  and  it  became  absolutely  necessary 
to  return  to  Scotland.    But  he  had  no  regrets,  even 

112 


though  ill.  When  he  reached  home,  he  found  the 
missionary  spirit  all  but  dead,  and  without  taking 
time  fully  to  regain  his  strength,  he  threw  himself 
energetically  into  the  work  of  educating  the  church 
at  home  in  the  knowledge  of  India's  need.  His  first 
sermon  was  full  of  missionary  fervor,  and  aroused 
great  enthusiasm,  which  swept  over  the  whole  country. 
He  greatly  overtaxed  his  strength  preaching  in  crowd- 
ed churches  and  halls  throughout  the  entire  com- 
munity, but  when  he  left  a  second  time  for  India 
after  five  years,  the  church,  largely  due  to  his  efforts, 
was  keenly  alive  to  missions.  In  1839  the  offerings 
for  the  foreign  work  were  fourteen  times  larger  than 
five  years  before.  Four  missionaries  had  gone  to 
India  as  a  result  of  Duff's  appeals,  and  the  Ladies' 
Missionary  Society  of  Scotland  owed  its  origin  to 
the  interest  aroused  by  one  of  his  addresses. 

Ten  Years  in  India — 1839-1849. 
It  was  a  joy  to  the  founder  of  the  Calcutta  School 
to  find  upon  his  return  a  flourishing  college  of  seven 
hundred  students  in  the  place  where  ten  years  before 
he  had  organized  his  first  class  of  five  boys.  Duff 
commenced  at  once  to  enlarge  his  work,  organizing 
training  schools  for  native  teachers,  Sunday  Bible 
classes  for  clerks  who  were  too  busy  to  attend  the 
classes  during  the  week,  and  evening  classes  for  the 
graduates.  He  turned  to  a  new  field,  and  founded 
two  mission  schools  fifty  miles  north  of  Calcutta. 
Through  the  generosity  of  some  wealthy  merchants, 
he  was  able  to  open  a  home  in  Calcutta  for  native 
Christians  who,  on  account  of  their  baptism  into 
the  Christian  faith,  were  persecuted. 

113 


Effects  in  India  of  the  Scottish  Disruption. 

In  1843,  a  dark  cloud  gathered,  and  threatened 
all  these  branches  of  work;  for  over  in  Scotland, 
the  Free  Church  separated  from  the  Established 
"Kirk,"  and  Duff,  with  most  of  his  associates,  cast 
in  their  lot  with  the  former,  though  nearly  all  the 
property  of  the  schools  and  colleges  he  had  founded 
remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Established  Church. 

Faith  was  strong,  however,  and  the  silver  lining 
to  the  dark  cloud  soon  appeared,  for  the  Free  Church 
bent  all  energies  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  college 
and  mission  in  Calcutta.  Personal  friends  of  Duff 
contributed  generously.  $2500.00  came  from  New 
York.  Land  was  bought,  and  a  building  commenced. 
Five  hundred  boys  were  present  on  the  opening  day 
of  the  new  school,  and  before  the  second  month,  1050 
were  enrolled;  more  than  in  the  old  college. 

Marked  spiritual  advances  cheered  the  hearts  of 
the  missionaries  during  these  trying  days.  A  great 
number  of  high-caste  Hindus  were  added  to  the 
church,  but  with  each  baptism  the  opposition  in- 
creased. Leading  Hindus  took  their  children  from 
the  Christian  schools,  and  Duff's  life  was  in  danger; 
but  the  number  of  converts  continued  to  increase. 
Some  Hindus  opened  an  English  school  where  religion 
was  not  permitted  to  be  taught.  Still  the  Christian 
schools  prospered,  and  many  were  added  to  the 
Church. 

The  Call  to  Return  to  Scotland. 
In  the  midst  of  all  his  activities,  the  news  came  of 
the  death  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  his  old  friend  and  teacher. 
The  death  of  this  wise  counsellor  and  loved  friend 

114 


was  not  only  a  great  personal  sorrow,  but  Duff  was 
much  concerned  about  the  condition  of  the  Free 
Church  at  home,  now  deprived  of  its  ablest  leader. 
He  feared  that  the  whole  cause  of  missions  would 
suffer,  as  well  as  the  loved  work  in  Scotland.  The 
Church  at  home  realized  its  loss,  and  knew  of  no 
worthy  successor  to  Dr.  Chalmers  except  his  former 
scholar,  Alexander  Duff.  A  most  urgent  call  was 
therefore  sent  to  Duff  to  give  up  his  work  in  India, 
and  return  to  Scotland.  Protests  against  his  going 
poured  in  upon  him.  Brahmans  and  Christians 
alike  begged  him  to  remain  in  India,  and  finally  it 
was  decided  that  he  would  not  accept  the  call  per- 
manently, but  for  a  time  return  to  Scotland  to  stir 
interest  and  to  organize  the  missionary  work  of  the 
new  Free  Church.  Before  returning  in  1850,  he 
visited  all  the  mission  stations  in  India,  as  far  as 
possible,  preaching,  strengthening,  encouraging,  wher- 
ever he  went.  Finally  at  Bombay,  just  before  he 
sailed,  he  delivered  his  stirring  and  now  famous 
address  on  the  "Necessity  of  Christian  Teaching 
even  in  Government  Schools." 

After  a  brief  rest,  he  began  the  long  preaching 
tours  in  Scotland  which  exhausted  him  physically, 
though  they  abundantly  rewarded  him;  for  he  saw 
the  tremendous  growth  of  missionary  interest  in  the 
new  Free  Church,  as  he  had  seen  it  fifteen  years 
before  in  the  Established  Church. 

Vistt  to  America — 1854. 
A   very   urgent   invitation   to   visit   America  was 
accepted,    and   in    February,  1854,    after   a   stormy 
passage,  he  landed  safely,  though  the  ship  was  nearly 

nr. 


destroyed  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  For  three 
months,  he  traveled  constantly,  drawing  crowds 
in  every  city  to  hear  his  eloquent  plea  for  world- 
wide missions  which  could  never  be  forgotten.  Com- 
pletely exhausted  by  the  strain,  he  returned  to 
Scotland,  leaving  in  this  country  a  deep  impression 
and  an  awakened  interest. 

Last  Years  in  India — 1 856-1 863. 
In  the  new  college  buildings  in  Calcutta,  erected 
during  Duff's  absence,  they  held  a  great  meeting  to 
welcome  him  back  in  1856,  and  upon  that  occasion  Sir 
Henry  Durand  said  :  "  Duff  and  his  fellow-laborers 
have,  under  God's  guidance,  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  an  edifice  which  must  swell  to  gigantic  proportions 
in  another  quarter  of  a  century.  Whatever  the 
growth  of  the  work,  Duff  and  his  five  pupils  will 
be  remembered  as  God's  instruments."  It  is 
interesting  to  see  a  part  of  the  fulfilment  of  this 
prophecy.  In  less  than  twenty-five  years,  there 
were  41,000  native  students  in  the  Christian  schools 
and  colleges  of  India.  In  less  than  fifty  years,  there 
were  10,000  native  teachers,  having  62,000  students 
under  Christian  teaching.  On  the  roll  of  those  who 
have  given  life  and  labor  to  India,  no  name  stands 
higher  than  that  of  Alexander  Duff.  In  1863  he 
left  India  to  return  no  more. 

Final  Return  Home — 1863. 

While  his  wife  preceded  him  and  went   directly 

to  Scotland,  he  took  a  voyage  to  the  Cape,  hoping 

to  improve  his  health.    He  visited  the  mission  stations 

of  his  church  in  Africa  with  great  interest,  encouraging 

116 


and  advising  the  workers.  He  joined  his  wife  in 
Scotland,  and  very  soon  afterward  the  greatest 
sorrow  of  his  long  life  came  to  him,  in  her  death. 
One  of  the  first  students  of  the  first  school  in  Calcutta 
who  became  a  Christian  minister  and  author,  Dr. 
Behari  Day,  in  his  life  of  Duff,  pays  a  beautiful 
tribute  to  the  splendid,  helpful  companion  of  his 
life  who  was,  throughout  his  long  service  in  India, 
an  inspiration  to  her  great  husband.  Duff  was  given 
all  the  honors  the  Church  can  pay  to  a  faithful  ser- 
vant grown  old  in  the  service.  He  was  an  active 
preacher  and  author  until,  at  the  age  of  seventy, 
he  fell  in  his  library,  and  died  two  years  later  from 
the  effects  of  the  fall.  During  his  last  illness  he  said  : 
"  I  am  very  low  and  cannot  say  much,  but  I  am  living 
daily,  habitually  in  Him."  As  death  drew  near, 
he  exclaimed  with  perfect  peace  and  calm,  "Thy 
will,  my  God,  my  God,  be  done. "  It  was  on  February 
12,  1878,  that  he  departed  to  be  with  Christ. 

"It  was  the  glory  of  Alexander  Duff  that,  arriving 
in  Calcutta  in  the  midst  of  a  great  intellectual  movement 
of  atheistical  character,  he  at  once  resolved  to  make 
that  character  Christian.  Bengalese,  and  alas !  their 
European  friends  and  teachers,  talked  of  Christianity 
as  an  obsolete  superstition.  Duff  burst  upon  the  scene 
with  his  faith,  energy,  erudition,  and  eloquence  to  teach 
them  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  not  the  ally  of  ignor- 
ance or  error,  but  was  in  the  van  of  civilization,  and 
that  the  Church  of  Christ  was  still  the  'Light  of  the 
World. '  //  is  certain  Duff's  work  can  never  be  undone 
unless  we  are  faithless  to  his  example. " 

Four  great  heroes  of  the  faith  representing  literary, 
evangelistic,    medical,   and    educational    work  have 

117 


been  brought  to  our  attention.  They  were  the 
pioneers  in  the  early  days  of  modern  missions,  a 
century  ago.  They  left  home  and  friends  and  bril- 
liant prospects,  when  India  was  five  times  further 
away  by  sailing  craft  than  it  is  to-day  by  steamer. 
They  did  so  because  within  them  was  a  burning  zeal 
to  be  ambassadors  for  Christ  to  those  dwelling  in 
darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death.  All  honor 
to  these  men  and  their  noble  wives,  who  lived  and 
died  for  India — the  first  missionaries  of  the  first 
missionary  societies  of  England,  America,  and  Scot- 
land! 

A  noble  army,  men  and  boys, 

The  matron  and  the  maid, 
Around  the  Savior's  throne  rejoice, 

In  robes  of  light  arrayed: 
They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  heaven 

Through  peril,  toil,  and  pain; 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 

To  follow  in  their  train. 

Missionary  Hymn  by  Reginald  Heber, 

Bishop    of    Calcutta     1823-1826. 

Questions. 

1.  What  three  men  influenced  Duff's  early  life  and 

in  what  ways? 

2.  Tell  of  his  home  and  student  life. 

3.  What  led  him  to  become  a  missionary,  and  how 

did  he  announce  his  decision  to  his  parents? 

4.  Why  do  you  think  he  read  Psalm  107  when  saved 

from  shipwreck? 

5.  Describe  the  first  five  years  in  Calcutta. 

6.  What  were  some  of  the  results  of  his  first  visit 

home  to  Scotland ? 

118 


7.  What  traits  of  character  do  you  see  revealed  in 

Duff's    own    words    quoted    in    this    Study? 

8.  Who   were  the   pioneer  missionaries  respectively 

of  the  first  missionary  societies  of  England, 
America,  and  Scotland? 

9.  Which  one  do  you  consider  greatest,  and  why? 

10.  What  responsibility  do  their  lives  impose  upon  us? 

Books  for  the  Library. 

"Life  of  Alexander  Duff,"  by  Elizabeth  B.  Vermilye. 

"Life  of  Alexander  Duff,"  by  George  Smith,  LL.D. 

"Recollections  of  Alexander  Duff,"  by  one  of  his 
pupils,  Lai  Behari  Day. 

"Missions  and  Modern  History,"  by  Robert  E.  Speer 
— Chapter  on  "The  Indian  Mutiny." 

"Pioneer  Missionaries  of  the  Church,'!  by  C.  C. 
Creegan. 

"Men  of  Might  in  India  Missions,"  by  H.  H.  Hol- 
comb. 


119 


Princeton  Theological  Seminar  .Libraries 


1012  01234  4091 


